Our Middle Earth Adventure
by Toony-Tornado
Summary: Two friends happen to find each other at a convention, and after they are given beautiful gems by who they thought was one of their favorite actors, they are thrust into the world of 'The Hobbit'. Where they are then told of their task to assist Thorin Oakenshild and his band of 14 on their to take back Erebor. Will they survive and find their way back home? Or meet a terrible end?
1. Meeting the Wizard

**Hey guys, welcome to my very first 'The Hobbit' fanfiction.**

**This was just fun project inspired by an RP I've done with my dear friend and online sister, Cellenia2 as she goes by here on FF (Hi little sis!*waves*) :3 :3 :3**

**We first started this RP a few years ago, I want to say maybe mid 2016 or 2017? And I've been working on it here and there since. I had been posting the chapter on my DeviantArt account until now, but I recently had a thought it would be good to keep all my fanfictions together on this account.**

**Any way, I have about 11 chapters that are finished now and once I post them all, it'll be going back on hiatus until I get some of my other stories completed. I hope you guys enjoy a story created between friends who are both rabid fan girls XD XD XD**

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_Chapter 1: Meeting the Wizard_

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She could barely contain her excitement as she looked all around the busy building, and even as she stood right in the middle of it, she still could hardly believe she was finally attending her very first convention!

Every single person that walked by, all of which were fans like herself, were bustling around excitedly as they went from table to table purchasing comics and other merchandise or even meeting well known individuals and receiving autographs. But her favorite part of the whole thing had to be that many of these fans were dressed up in amazing cosplay for the occasion.

She particularly liked all the 'Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit' cosplayers best, but as great as it was to see, she unfortunately she felt a little underdressed in her causal clothing among all these wonderful costumes...

She twirled strands of her long red hair around in her fingers as she looked around, but in her tracks as something caught her eye through the crowed. Not someone dressed as a well-known character or even someone sitting at a table with collectible items, but a young woman like herself.

The other woman had pale skin and was dressed in black shirt with red and black striped sleeves and she had dark brown hair that was in a pixie style haircut while her amber brown eyes peered down through yellow rimmed glasses as she looked over potential items to buy.

The red head chewed on her bottom lip in thought for a moment, she didn't want to come off as weird or creepy, but she seemed so familiar that she just _had_ to go and make sure that her haunch was right. So, after she finally worked up the courage, she hurried over to the woman as she moved to look at other tables and waved her arms about to get her attention.

And the woman did stop, an expression of surprise on her face as she no doubt wondered what this stranger wanted from her.

"Hi, sorry if I come across a little weird, but I'm just gonna jump on this wild guess and ask...does your name happen to be Alison?" She asked, just jumping right into it.

The young woman gave her a guarded look, but she slowly nodded which made the redhead a little more confident.

"But you like to be called 'Ali'." She continued. "And you have a DeviantArt account by the name of 'UnderworldLegends', right?"

At that, she didn't say anything at first, she only looked her up and down as the gears in her mind seemed to be turning before she finally spoke up.

"_Oui_, but how did you know that?" She asked softly, her words wrapped within an attractive French accent.

And there was the clincher, it _had_ to be her!

"Ali, it's me!" the red-haired woman said, letting out a lighthearted laugh before she put her hands up to the top of her head and pretended to make them look like ears. "Though, you'd probably recognize me better if I had fox ears and a tail like my avatar does on my DA account."

The young woman, Ali, had instant changes in expression which went from mistrustful to realization and finally to surprised joy.

"_Toony?_" Ali stated loudly as an excited smile appeared on her face. "_Oh, mon Dieu!_ Toony, is it really you?"

"Toony-Tornado, at your service!" the red head said with a big grin.

"My Sister!" Ali cried in joy as the two friends hugged each other tightly. "Oh, it's so good to finally meet you in person!"

"Same here! I can't believe how lucky this is!" The red head stated happily as she hugged Ali even tighter before they both pulled away to get a better look at each other. "I thought it was you since I've seen this shirt in your drawings, if you hadn't worn it today, I totally would have missed you!"

"This is _si merveilleu_, so wonderful!" Ali said with that big smile still on her face. "Do you still want me to call you 'Toony'? Should I call you by your real name?"

"Naaaah, Toony works just fine." Toony said with a smile. "Oh hey, you wanna explore this thing with me some and see if we can find anything good? My husband was here with me before, but he had to take a work call and he'll be gone a while."

"_Bien_, that sounds like fun!" Ali said with an eager nod before they both looped arms with each other, giggling excitedly. But they hardly had even a second to enjoy the convention or even pick out a place to visit when a brilliant red light suddenly flashed from the corner of Ali's eye. Toony must have seen it to because they both stopped and fell quiet before they curiously looked over in the same direction.

"Toony, _Ca c'était quoi?_" Ali asked looking to Toony and then back to the crowd. "Did you just see a bright red light flashing over there?"

"I saw a light...but it looked green to me, not red," Toony told her, scratching her head in confusion. "There are a lot of cos-players here, maybe it was just camera flashes or something?"

Ali was a little hesitant to agree, whatever that light was, it didn't look like any camera flash she had ever seen before. But as soon as a group of people moved out of the way, Toony let out a loud gasp that made Ali jump in slight surprise.

"Toony?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Holy muffins Ali!" Toony started with a gasp, pointing over to what she saw. "_Look!_"

Ali blinked, but she slowly followed her friends' finger and looked around. It took a few seconds, but she eventually caught sight of it too and let out a gasp of her own and she grabbed Toony by the arm and began shaking it.

"_Oh, aucun moyen!_" Ali began in a breathless voice, hardly believing her eyes. "Is...is that really Sir Ian Mckellen?!"

"And he's in his Gandalf the Gray outfit, he even has the staff!" Toony stated excitedly, grabbing Alis' hands off her arm and holding them in a tight grip. "Come on sis, let's go fan girl over him!"

The strange flash of light was forgotten at the thought of meeting a great actor and the two of them rushed past the crowds. Practically skipping over to the table where Sir Ian Mckellen sat while his bright blue eyes watched them intently, as though he were silently studying them until they finally stood before him.

"Mr. Mckellen, or-or should I say Sir Mckellen...oh I'll worry about it later, we're such huge fans!" Toony stated almost too fast for him to catch what she was saying.

"My, my, such lively young ladies you are." he said with a chuckle. "But considering the occasion, I would prefer if you simply called me Gandalf the Gray."

Both Toony and Ali tried to keep from squealing to loud as he spoke to them in character, but before either of them could talk to him more or ask for an autograph, Ali looked down at the table and her amber eyes widened slightly with wonder.

"Hey, _Regarde ça_, it's glowing!" Ali stated in surprise, making Toony look down at the table 'Gandalf' sat behind as well. And on its surface was a gold ring with a very beautiful red ruby and an equally alluring green emerald necklace.

"Glowing, you say?" the elder man asked with an interested smile.

"_Oui_, I'm sure of it! This has to be what I saw a few moments ago!" Ali said with a firm nod before she turned to Toony. "You see the ring glowing too, don't you sis?"

"Well, I see the _necklace_ glowing..." Toony started slowly, looking over the ring again to see if she could see any kind of light, but she just couldn't. She only saw the emerald shimmering with a soft green light.

"_Hein?_ But it's the ring glowing, can't you see the red light?" Ali questioned in surprise. How could they both be seeing different color lights from two very different items?

This was so strange...

"These are very special gems." the older man told them as he picked up the ring and placed it gently within Ali's palm, and the red glow seemed to get brighter as she held it. "This is the sacred ruby of _Uur-Anor_, a very powerful stone that was said to fall from the sun itself, able to give form the very fire that resides within the heart of its chosen master."

"And this is the treasured _Fea Kelva_ Emerald." he continued, picking up the black woven cord of the necklace and holding it out for Toony to take. "Fabled for endowing it's wearer with the gifts of every animal you can imagine."

"_Si belle_...how much for these?" Ali asked as the two young women marveled at the enchanting jewelry that was presented to them.

Ali wasn't quite sure why she asked, handmade jewelry from places like this was always so expensive. But since it was Sir Ian Mckellen himself that was selling them and he seemed almost sold out since these were the only two items that were left, both Ali and Toony didn't want to leave without them if they could help it. Plus, how many people could say that they purchased something from a very famous actor like this?

"I do not require money in return for these particular jewels." He said, taking them both by surprise. "But should you accept these gifts, you'll need only to remember to use them wisely..."

That was a little vague, not to mention a tad weird, but they just shrugged it off as they figured he was just keeping very well in character. He certainly knew how to play the enigmatic wizard off the big screen just as well on it.

"We gladly accept them, sir." Ali said politely, the two friends unable to contain their smiles as they both began put on their new accessories. "_Merci beaucoup!_"

But, as soon as Ali's ring slipped snugly upon her finger and Toony had the necklace fastened comfortably around her neck, not one person who was attending the convention seemed to notice that the two young women, who standing there only moments ago, seemed to suddenly vanished into thin air without leaving so much as a single trace...

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**_Alrighty, the first chapter is done :3 now I got 10 more chapters to read through and touch up before I post them._**

**_I don't know how many of you know French, I certainly don't and I don't know how well google translate has helped me out, so I'll leave all the words I use with, what I hope, is the right translation at the end of all my chapters XD_**

**_~French Translations~_**

**_Oui_=Yes **

**_Oh, mon Dieu!_=Oh my God!**

_S_**_i merveilleu!_=So wonderful!**

**_Bien_=Ok**

**_Ca c'était quoi?_=What was that? **

**_O__h aucun moyen_=Oh no way **

**_Regarde ça_=Look at this**

_**Hein?**_**=Huh?**

**_Si belle_=So beautiful**

**_Merci beaucoup!=_Thank you very much!**

**Thank you so much for reading guys!**


	2. Middle Earth

**Alright, here we are at chapter 2, all spruced up and ready to read :D:D:D I d want to apologize that it's taken me a while to post new chapters since I'm only fixing up the chapters I already have written, but my almost 8 month old has been rebelling against a full nights sleep and quality nap time…oh sleep, how I miss you T_T**

**But enough about that, I'd like to use this opportunity to thank the wonderful Steelcode for this stories first ever review! It's great to see you hun, thank you so very much for your review and attention! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

**As I hope you all will too :3 :3 :3**

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_Chapter 2: Middle Earth_

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When Ali first began to come too, the first thing she was aware of was the smell of smoke and the crackling of wood from a fire; And when her warm amber eyes fluttered open, she could see the night sky filled with twinkling stars above her.

But that wasn't right, she was supposed to be indoors at the convention…and the last time she checked, it was still the sunny hours of the afternoon. Did she faint? Did someone bring her outside for fresh air while she was unconscious? Where was Toony?

"Ah, I see that you've finally awoken." a familiar voice said.

Ali's eyes widened in alarm and she turned her head to the side, seeing the old man dressed as Gandalf the gray she and her friend were speaking to only moments before everything just went dark. Just casually sitting beside a small fire and smoking on his long pipe as one would at a leisurely camp out.

"Impeccable timing, we'll need to be heading off fairly soon." He stated.

The young French woman acted on reflex, thanks to her police training back home, quickly pushed herself up and stood to her feet in a defensive position. But once she opened her mouth to demand what was going on, she quickly slapped a hand over her lips as an intense feeling of nausea came over her and sank back down to her knees.

"Now, now, no need to move so fast. Traveling between worlds is quite a strain upon the body." The grey wizard said. "Take it slow, I assure you that it will pass momentarily."

Ali just sat there for a moment, focusing on her breathing until her stomach finally stopped churning, her body trembling a bit from slight fatigue as well as the chill in the night air. Instinctively, the long hours of training she had to endure from her place on the force kicked on, and she surveyed the area around her.

Looking for any recognizable landmarks to tell her where she was or for things she could use as a weapon to defend herself with if she had to.

But all she could see around her was a mass of large, leafy trees and other greenery that surrounded the small little glade that she was in; and to her dismay, there was nothing within reach for her to use to protect herself.

"There's no cause for you to be so anxious, my dear." her kidnapper said, making her look back at him as he took another puff of his pipe. "For the time being, you are quite safe."

"Safe?" she repeated, almost with a growl. "_C'est un rire!_ When a woman is abducted to a strange place by a strange man, 'safe' is not what she is! Now where have you taken me?!"

"And tell me what you've done with my sister!"

"Be calm now, your friend is perfectly fine." He assured her in an even tone. "in fact, she is there, right behind you."

Looking at him suspiciously, she chanced a peek over her shoulder. And sure enough, there Toony was, unconscious on the ground and wrapped up in a blanket like a cocoon.

"Toony!" Ali began, concern in her voice as she leaned over her and shook Toonys' shoulder. "Sis, are you alright?! _Réponds-moi!_"

"Mmm...But mama, I don't wanna pick potatoes..." Toony mumbled as she rolled over and snuggled her cheek against Ali's lap like it was a pillow without even opening her eyes. "..Playing duck, duck, goose with Hannah and the Outsiders...Yvette's cheating...tripping people.."

Then she just went back to snoring, making Ali let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Toony, this is no time for sleeping!" she stated as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it off. "_Réveillez-vous! _We're in big troub-"

But her words were cut off by a sharp gasp when the sight of large, dark brown animal ears and a bushy red and white tail on her sister's body met her eyes. And not knowing what else to do, Ali let out a shrill scream that, in turn, made Toony's greyish green eyes snap wide open and caused her to scream as well before she jumped to her feet in a disoriented panic.

"AAAGH! Oh my god is there fire?! Who's dying?! What's-hrrk!" Both of Toony's hands clapped over her mouth as she almost turned a sickly green color before she took off towards some nearby bushes. making Ali wince pityingly as her poor sister lost any food she might have had in her stomach before now.

Toony let out a groan as she finally recovered, cradling her upset stomach before she realized that she wasn't at the convention anymore...

"Hey, what's going on here?!" she demanded. "Where am I? What is this place?"

She then gave a yelp when she felt something tangle in her legs and tripped her, causing her to see her new tail after she fell over. staring wide eyed and opened mouthed with shock.

"What the crap is _this?!_" she demanded shrilly.

"Well, at least now you're more recognizable as your avatar, sis..." Ali commented with a halfhearted smile, making Toony finally realize that she wasn't alone.

"Ali?!" Toony asked as she quickly crawled over to her. "What's going on here?!"

"If you two would allow me the chance," their elder visitor began as he nonchalantly refilled his pipe with a pinch of tobacco. "Then I would gladly enlighten you of your duties here on Middle Earth."

The two young women silently stared at him for a good long while before they shared glances with each other, wordlessly coming to the same thought. With all these questions racing through their heads, then they really had no choice but to hear him out.

"Alright…" Ali started as she and Toony settled down close to each other. "Explain yourself."

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_Later…_

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Okay, so let me see if I got this right..." Toony began after she and Ali both had quietly listened to this old man, who they recognized as a very iconic character from two of their favorite fantasy movie trilogies. "You took precious treasures, without asking, and then came to our world by means of a very powerful spell, which you cast without asking, to find people who would be best compatible to use said treasures so that they could utilize their powers on this huge, long and possibly dangerous quest, _also_ without asking whether or not they even wanted to partake in it at all?"

Gandalf, as they have had no choice but to accept was a real person after all that had happened thus far, thought about what she said for a bit before he shrugged and gave a nod of his head.

"Well, yes, that was a most excellent summarization." he praised, hardly even flinching as the fox ears red head stared at him with a withering glare for several seconds.

"... you have a very bad habit of not asking people things before you do them." Toony finally stated with a frown.

"If I had tried to tell you that I was who I am when we met, would you really have believed me?" Gandalf asked.

Toony didn't even answer him, she knew that he did have a point, but that didn't make her any less angry about being _kidnapped._

"_Mais pourquoi?_ why us?" Ali asked, who much more intrigued by the whole situation as she looked down at her ring with fascination. "We're just ordinary girls, what can we do to help with anything like this?"

"I don't know." Gandalf answered truthfully, catching them by surprise. "It is the jewels that decide who their new masters shall be, and it was they who beckoned you to me. You each have something inside that made you the chosen ones of these treasures, and though even I cannot fully understand why that is, it is no less my duty to teach you how to control the powers they bestow upon you so you may best serve this journey."

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa!_ I thought I was just gonna get a pretty necklace, not go adventuring in some medieval fantasy land! I did _not_ sign up for this!" Toony stated loudly as she reached up behind her neck and grabbed to cord of the necklace to take it off and hand it back to him. But it looked like she was having some trouble with it. "I'm sorry, but you'll just need to take these back and find someone else who can..can..._hey!_"

she tugged and pulled at the necklace, but no matter what she did, it just wouldn't budge.

"This thing won't come off!" she stated in alarm.

Ali experimentally tried to remove the ring from her finger, but to her surprise, she was met with the same problem as her friend.

"_Mon anneau, aussi_, I can't get it off me, either!" she said.

"And they won't come off." Gandalf suddenly said, as he clacked his pipe along the stump he sat on to clean out the ashes before he stood to his feet, holding his gnarled wooden staff within his hands as he started down at the two young women with those eyes so filled with mystery. "Not until your duties are done."

What duties?!" Toony demanded.

"Your duties as newfound protectors for a quest." Gandalf answered as he looked to Ali "You, who have been chosen by the sacred ruby of Uur-Anar, you must lend your fiery will to help and protect those that you will be aiding."

"And you," he continued, looking to Toony. "The Fea Kelva Emerald gives to you the power to change your form so that you may better use the gifts of any animal of your choosing."

The two of them were silent for only a moment as they processed his answer, but as they met each other's eyes, Toony was the first to break it with a series of laughter as though he just told them the funniest joke in the world.

"You mean this emerald will turn me into animals?" Toony asked, thinking that he had to be kidding around. "So you're telling me that if I sit here and imagine that I'm, oh I don't know, a Llama, with the woolly fur, long ears and neck and the need to spit in people faces, then _poof_...that's what I'll be?"

Though as Toony rather sarcastically spoke out the description of the animal, Gandalf slowly gave a smile while Ali's amber eyes widened to the size of saucers at what was going on before her...because right in the spot where her red headed friend was sitting before, was a fluffy red Llama with a sardonic smirk on her brown muzzle.

"That is usually how it works for those chosen by the Fea Kelva emerald." Gandalf finally said before he picked up a leather pouch from beside him. "Would you care for some water?"

"Well, since you're offering," Toony began as she reached out to take the water pouch. "I think I could stand to-WHAT THE CRAP?!"

she was completely shocked to see shiny black hooves where her hands should be, and patting herself down, she saw that she had curly red wool, a big snout and a neck that was _way_ too long.

"Am…am I a Llama?!" Toony demanded, looking Ali strait in the eye. But as she was still to stunned to speak, the young French woman slowly nodded her head, sending Toony into a screaming fit to her four legs.

"_HolycrapImmaLlama!Idon'twannabeaLlama!WhyamIafreakingLlama?!" _the wooly, red Camelid yelled out hysterically as she ran around the clearing, tripping over her hoofs every now and then

"Hold on! _Arrêtez!_" Ali cried as she tried to get her friend to stop panicking. "Toony, calm down!"

"_You_ calm down! You're not the one who's a Llama! You're...You're..." But her sentenced died down in her throat as she gave a gasp and her eyes widened in horror before she screamed out. "Holy hell! You're on _fire!_"

Fire? Ali looked down and gave a gasp of her own when she suddenly saw that both her arms and a good portion of her torso did indeed have red flames dancing upon them.

"_Merde alors! _I'M ON FIRE!" Ali repeated with a high-pitched screech as she then began to run around haphazardly while her equally frantic, llama-fied friend tried to chase her down so she could help her put out the flames that seemed to get bigger.

"_Je suis en feu! Je suis en feu!_ Put me out!" Ali yelled as then stopped running and began to roll around on the grass frantically. "_Bon dieu_, someone put me out!"

"SILENCE!" came Gandalfs' loud, booming voice as he took his staff and pounded the end of up upon the ground, making a blast of wind shot out from that same spot and spreading out to where it rustled the all of the leaves on bushes and shook the trees that grew all around the clearing.

Effectively stilling the two young woman from their fearful bustling as they silently stared at him with wide eyes as he calmly came to stand before them with a kind, but stern expression on his old features.

"I understand that these newfound abilities are indeed a bit of a shock, especially when you haven't any idea how to reverse the effects..." he began. "So be calm, and I will give you your very first lesson in controlling the magic you now wield."

First looked to Ali with his bright blue eyes, somehow holding her gaze from flames that still licked at her form.

"I'm sure that know you are still, you realize that the flames do not bring you pain, nor can you feel any sort of heat from them." He explained. "Those chosen by the ruby of Uur-Anor are impervious to flames, and they can create and manipulate fire at will. It becomes in tuned to your emotions, more so than others, it becomes in tuned to your fear, your anger, your passion…the greater you feel, the greater your power will grow if you are not careful."

"To control the sacred flames that ring has given you, you must learn to calm yourself...think of things or places that relax you, think of people that you care about."

Ali closed her eyes and tried to do what he instructed. She thought of home, she thought of writing stories and drawing pictures of her favorite characters from movies and shows, she thought of her friends, both in real life and online...Brittany...Ian...all of her dear friends that she had laughed and talked and had fun with.

Pretty soon, after she felt completely at ease, Ali opened her eyes and saw that she was no longer on fire. letting a long sigh of relief escape her lips before Gandalf turned his gaze to green eyed llama that was beside her.

"The Fea Kelva emerald should not be taken so lightly, young lady." He began. "As you've discovered, you can change your form with a mere thought of any and every animal you can imagine. But you must be very careful, the greater the beast, the more difficult it will for you to control the nature of it."

"The only thing that's difficult to control right now is this urge to eat grass!" Toony said irritably. "Can we talk more about this when I have my thumbs back, please?"

"You need only to keep the image of who you are in your mind." Gandalf said with a smile. "Though it seems you're one step ahead already..."

Wondering what he meant, Toony glanced down, smiling widely when she saw that she had her hands back before wiggling her fingers and patting herself down. Besides the fact that she still had fox ears and a tail, everything else was back to normal.

"Aaaah, that's better." she sighed in relief.

"Now, if everything is as it should be, we really must be getting along." Gandalf suddenly said as he turned and let out a whistle before two large horses came galloping out into the glade. Both saddled up and packed with bags of things that they would most likely need for the journey.

"Come along now, a wizard must always be punctual." the old man said as he walked over to his own horse, giving the girls a short moment to themselves as he mounted and got himself ready to go.

"Well…it's not like we really have anywhere else to go." Ali stated as she stood to her feet and offered one of her hands out for Toony to take.

"Or much of a choice..." Toony added as she took Ali's hand and they both walked over towards the painted mare that was waiting for us before the red head shot the old wizard a look. "Next time, you should _really_ ask first!"

"I'll keep that in mind." he said with a humorous grin.

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**There we go, all finished. I hope you guys enjoyed! :D:D:D**

_**~French Translations~**_

**_C'est un rire!=_That's a laugh!**

**_Réponds-moi!=_Answer me!**

**_Mais pourquoi?=_But why?**

**_Mon anneau, aussi=_My ring, too**

**_Arrêtez!=_Stop!**

**_Merde alors!=_Holy s**t**

**_Je suis en feu!=_I'm on fire!**

**_Bon dieu-_Good God**

**Thanks so much for stopping by, we'll see ya next time!**


	3. Protectors?

**_Woo-hoo! I think I'm making pretty good time with these touch ups, hopefully I'll start getting one chapter posted a day until I have all 11 chapters X3 X3 X3_**

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_Chapter 3: Protectors?_

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"Okay, okay, what am I now?" Toony asked Ali with a giddy tone in her voice as she once again shifted her form. Changing into different animals was something of a little game she took to doing after a while of walking through the many hills of Middle Earth. And once her transformation was complete, there stood a large bird with a long neck and long legs.

After a few moments of dramatically strutting alongside the mare that Ali still road on, she let out a loud honk.

"Haha, _Oh, je sais_, this is an easy one..." Ali said with a giggle as her sister humorously displayed her short, feathery wings. "It's an ostrich!"

"That's right!" Toony affirmed happily. "Hey, if I had a pink bow and ballet slippers, you think I'd look like that one from 'Fantasia'?"

She then lifted herself up on her clawed tip toes, dancing around like a ballerina would. But Ali could only let out a laugh at how silly she looked before Toony had to stop when she almost tripped over her own feet.

"Wow, that's a bit too awkward to move like that." she commented with an embarrassed laugh.

"I don't believe this is an appropriate use of the Fae Kelva emerald..." Gandalf commented from the front of their little pack, speaking for the first time after a while of observing Toony frequently change from animal to animal and having Ali guess what they are. "It is a sacred jewel that is meant to be used to protect allies and fight against foes, not a toy to be played with."

"Hey, I'm sorry I'm allergic to horses, okay?" Toony started, changing back to her original form and giving her red fox tail a flick. "I had to do something to keep up, and I'd prefer to do it without getting hives everywhere, thank you very much."

"I was surprised to learn that sis, it must be such a shame." Ali said as she gave an affectionate stroke along her horses' neck. "Mia is so nice, _une telle fille douce._"

"I know, it sucks because I love horses!" Toony whined before she just let out a sigh and gave a shrug of her shoulders. "But at least this way I can practice using this necklace, and I learn best when I'm having fun."

She grinned up at Ali as another animal came to mind. "Okay sis, this is gonna one of my favorites that I see around in my home state, you remember where I'm from?"

"You're from Alaska, right?" Ali asked with an interested smile.

"You got it!" Toony told her before her form changed from a woman, to a large, horse-like animal with four cloven hoofs, shaggy, reddish-brown fur and a large bulbous nose that made the creature look a little goofy, but in a cute sort of way. "So what am I?"

Ali gave a grin at the sight. "You're a very pretty looking moose, sis." she told her.

"Why thank you very much!" Toony told her, holding her head up proudly as she decided to stay in her moose form since she could easily keep in stride with Mia the horse. "This is getting a lot easier to do now, at least when I change into animals with two to four legs."

"Hey, so when are you gonna start practicing?" she suddenly asked Ali, looking at her ring with curiosity and eagerness to see her use it. "I'd really like to see what you can do with that ring of yours!"

At that, Ali's smile faltered a bit, but she managed to keep a somewhat cheerful demeanor as she waved the question away.

"Well, I'd like to wait, _juste un peu plus longtemps_... you know how I am with fire, sis." Ali began. "Maybe when Gandalf has a chance to stop and teach me a little more?"

"I'm afraid I won't be able to teach you much of anything until we meet with the others." Gandalf told them without so much as sparing a glance over his shoulder. "And before we can even do that, we must first stop in Bree, so that we may purchase suitable garments for you both."

Ali and Toony looked at each other, Ali was still wearing her long sleeved, red and black stripped shirt and dark blue jeans with black boots. And though Toony was still in her moose form, it was the same for her as she had arrived, wearing knee length jean shorts with a gray Eeyore t-shirt and black hoodie with gray and pink sneakers.

"What's wrong with our cloths?" Toony finally asked as they looked back to Gandalf, watching as he let out the first chuckle they had heard him give since they left the campsite where they first woke up.

"Two young woman, parading around in Middle Earth wearing strange clothing?" he began. "It's bound to spread whisperings and attract unwanted attention when we want to spare as little of it as we can manage."

Well, that made sense, and though the girls thought they would be fine staying in their own clothing, they couldn't deny the bit of excitement they were feeling at the thought of going to a well-known town in Middle Earth and getting authentic Middle Earth outfits and accessories. They couldn't tell how much longer they spent on the road, but they continued to pass the time with Toony changing into other land animals and having Ali guess what they were.

And just when the sun was beginning to get low on the horizon, that was when Gandalf suddenly stopped.

"Ah, it appears we have finally arrived." he stated, a touch of relief in his voice as they two young women walked up beside him, smiles appearing on their faces to see that all too familiar town before them.

"Toony, _Voyez-vous cela?_" Ali asked wondrously. "I can't believe that is really Bree, right there in front of us..."

"I can! This is flipping awesome!" the red head stated, barely able to contain herself as her ears perked up and her fox tail wagged. "Holy muffins, what are we waiting for? Let's go down and look around!"

"Hold, young lady," Gandalf said just when she was ready to head down. " I can understand your eagerness to explore a world you've only dreamed of seeing for yourself, but I must advise against you entering that town as you are."

"_Whaaaa?_" Toony began with a bit of a whine in her tone. "Oh come on! It's not like no one on this planet doesn't know about magic, I seriously doubt they'd be bothered by me all that much!"

"I would prefer to agree with you, but I must readdress my previous statement, I would very much like to avoid unwanted attention." The gray wizard told her. "Although the world of men is indeed accustomed to magical beings such as dwarfs, elves and wizards, they will still be rather curious as to what manner of creature you are to appear mortal, but still show your connection to magic with her ears and tail."

"And while most residents of that town are relatively harmless, there are those who would seek a chance to fetch a hefty sum of coin from catching and selling such a rarity." He added. "Would you really want take that risk, and not only endanger yourself, but the wellbeing of your companion as well?"

Toony shared a glance with Ali, who could only offer her an apologetic smile and a slight shrug of her shoulders as she knew that Gandalf did indeed have a very good point.

"You know he's right, Toony." Ali told her gently, biting back a small giggle at Toony's stubbornly indignant and pouty expression.

After a few moments of silence, Toony finally just let out a loud exasperated sigh before she transformed into a large, wolf like dog with red fur and grayish green eyes.

"Is _this_ better?" she asked with a dry tone.

"That will do." Gandalf said before he urged his horse to go forward towards the town. "Be sure to remain close to lady Ali or myself so you will not be mistaken for a stray. And take care not to speak aloud if you can manage."

"Pff, _'take care not to speak aloud if you can manage',_ whatever..." Toony grumbled under her breath as she trudged along.

"_Ne vous inquiétez pas_, sis, it's only until we get some new cloths." Ali began, trying to cheer Toony up." And besides, even though you have to be like that, we can still still have fun looking around Bree."

"Yeah, I guess that's true...you're right Ali, thanks." Toony agreed brightening up again. "Hey, we should totally race down to the gate!"

At that, Ali got a big grin on her face and gripped Mia's reigns tighter and stood up a bit in the stirrups. "_Vous êtes ainsi de suite!_" she said, accepting the challenge.

"Last one there has to kiss a troll!" The red furred dog yelled giddily as she suddenly ran off without giving a proper start off.

"Hey! Cheater!" Ali called out with a laugh as she gave a swift bump to Mia's sides with her heels, urging the horse to run after her.

So the two of them ran, whooping and giggling as they zoomed past Gandalf towards the gate that would lead them inside Bree while they old wizard just watched them with a slight smile. He didn't mind them having their fun for now...there was still plenty of time before it was required for them to be more serious.

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_Later in Bree.._

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Once they were let into Bree, Gandalf suggested that the split up for just a short time. It would be faster if he left the two young women a small satchel of coins so that they could buy their dresses and he would take their horses to get fed and watered before they went back on their way.

Ali and Toony both agreed to meet back up later at the front gates, and once Gandalf left them, they set out to find a clothing store.

It didn't take long to find one that sold travel dresses, and they were both pretty eager to look around once they stepped in thorough the door that was propped open for customers.

But their excitement was short lived when the merchant noticed that Ali had brought her 'dog' inside.

"Oi! Woman! No animals allowed!" the merchant angrily barked, pointing at Toony. "Either get your beast outta my store or leave!"

Although Toony couldn't voice her displeasure for this injustice at once again getting hindered from exploring this place, she still flatted her ears and let out a frustrated sigh that was mixed in with a growl before Ali gave her a comforting pat upon her head.

"I'm sorry sis, it can't be helped." Ali said. "But don't worry, I'll pick out something good for you, just wait out here for me, _d'accord?_"

Toony really would have preferred to go in with her, but it just couldn't happen. So with a short nod of her head, Toony walked out of the opened door and sat back on her haunches to watch as Ali began to look around at what they had to offer. But it wasn't long before she noticed that she wasn't the only one who was watching Ali as she looked through the cloaks and dresses…

From the corner of her eye, she spotted two men across the path. Gritty looking men who looked like they were up to absolutely no good and like they desperately needed a good bath. But even if they were to take one, it still wouldn't wash away the positively slimy vibe Toony got from them.

She was absolutely disgusted with those sleazy expressions they had as they watch Ali, and when her friend went to the merchant, payed for the clothing she picked out and then disappeared into the back so she could change, they started talking to each other.

Their voices were quiet, and Toony couldn't quite hear what they were whispering about. But if her gut feeling about their intentions were right, then for their own sake, they had better keep their distance!

Movement from behind made her look back to see Ali stepping out of the store, dressed in a comfy looking black dress that had puffy sleeves and a dark red corset that laced up the front. An excited smile on her face as she knelt next to her.

"_Regardez ce_, Toony, I found you an outfit with a pretty green skirt." Ali told her, showing Toony a part of the bundle of clothing in her arms that was made of a material that was a very nice shade of green. "That's your favorite color, isn't it?"

Before Toony had a chance to warn her about the men, tweedle creep and tweedle creeper were suddenly standing before them.

"Well 'ello, there, miss." the taller one greeted, a smile of crooked, yellowed teeth flashing out from under his large nose. "I don't think we've ever seen a pretty lit'le thing like ya around before."

Ali only blinked at the two men before she looked down at Toony, who gave a short growl and a quick shake of her head with her ears laid flat against her skull and the red fur along her back standing high on end.

"You wouldn't have." Ali said shortly, getting the message from her friend as she turned to walk away. "_Excusez-moi_."

"Aw, don't be like that," the short man with stringy hair and sunken beady eyes said as he stepped in her way to stop her. "If yer new 'ere, how's about ya let me 'n Roddy show ya around?"

"Yeah, thas' right Ned, we know all tha best places ta go." his taller friend, Roddy, added before laying his grubby fingered hand on Ali's shoulder. "Why don't we take ya somewhere and get ta know ya better, hmm?"

At that, Toony jumped up with a loud snarl, snapping at his arm with her sharp teeth, effectively startling both of the men into backing up with a short gasp while Roddy held the arm that almost got mauled closer to him.

"That mongrel o' yers got quite tha mouth on 'er..." Roddy commented with distaste as he glared down at the growling, red furred mutt that almost seemed to be daring him to touch the young woman again with those strange colored eyes.

"She doesn't take kindly to strange men." Ali said with a cold tone as she lightly brushed her fingers along the top of Toony's head. "Come on Toony, _Allons-y_."

" 'old on, jus' where do ya think yer walkin' off ta?" Roddy demanded, getting ahead of her and stepping in Ali's way. Taking mind not to get to close to the beast that was now baring it's teeth at him in warning. " 'round these parts, it's bad manners fer a woman ta up'n leave when she's offered ta be shown around town!"

"And where _I'm _from, it's 'bad manners' for a man to keep perusing a woman when she is clearly not interested!" Ali told him angrily. "_Au revoir!_"

She put a hand on his chest to try and push him out of her way, but she jumped when he suddenly grabbed her wrist in a tight grip, glaring down at her with a sneer on his rat like face.

"I don't know that last bit ya said, but it seems like tha men where yer from need ta teach tha women how ta behave a lit'le better!" he told her, giving Ali's wrist a threatening squeeze.

Ali's heart pounded in her chest, but she did a good job in hiding the fear that she felt, and remembering the police defensive training she went through, she quickly dropped the clothing in her arms and sent a hard, well aimed hit into Roddy's wrist, making his fingers loosen and slipped off from the force. Before the man could voice the surprise that was evident on his face, he let out a loud 'Woof!' when the woman sent a strong kick to his gut.

To which Ned did not like at all and he started towards the wench that attacked his friend..

" 'ey! Why ya little- ACK!" but he didn't get very far when the red dog gave a loud, snarling bark and jumped at him with open maw. And he gave a loud yell when her jaws clamped down tightly on his pant leg and pulled him down, dragging him around in the dirt so he couldn't get his footing.

Once the first hit was made, they had managed to draw in quite a crowd, and while Toony kept Ned at bay, Ali prepared herself as Roddy got his breath back, glaring at her with rage.

"So ya think ya can get away with humiliatin' me like that?!" he asked before he stepped forward and flung a fist at her. But Ali just used a well-practiced technique to deflect his punch and took hold of his palm in a tight grip before she jerked it up in an angle and then twisted his arm, making him let out a yelp of pain while falling to his knees as his whole arm locked up on him.

It was at that time that in the struggle between Ned and Toony did the smaller man finally get free by kicking her off him with his free foot. He hit her in the side of the head which left stars dancing in her vision, and by the time she could finally see again, she was tackled to the ground on her side with a loud, pain filled yelp.

She tried to get back up, but the guy was just too heavy, and it didn't help that he had an agonizingly tight grip on her scruff while he heavily rested one of his knees on her neck, almost cutting off her air supply.

And after Toony had yelped, that was when Ali looked back to see that her friend was being held down.

"Toony!" she cried in alarm.

Using her distraction, Roddy sent a sweeping kick to Ali's ankles, making her yell out as she lost her grip on him and fell over on the ground. And before she could try and get back up to her feet to help Toony, a rough had grabbed her wrist and yanked it behind her back before she was pushed down on her front into the dirt path.

She tried to struggle out of his grip, but gave a shuttering gasp when she felt fingers grab a fist full of her short, highlighted hair and pulled her head up a bit.

"Haha, I don't mind 'em bein' a lit'le feisty, but it won't do ya no good in tha end, ya know." he heard Roddy's voice whispered in her ear as he pulled her arm up a little higher until he heard a hiss of pain from her. "You'll learn to like me... sooner or later!"

Ali could hardly breath from the fear she felt, Toony couldn't get away from her own captor, Gandalf wasn't anywhere in sight and everyone was just standing around as these men were hurting them. Why wasn't anyone helping? Were they just going to let them take her away so they can do god knows what?!

"_Laisse-moi partir!_" Ali screamed out before fire suddenly ignited from her hands, surprising Roddy into quickly standing up off of the young woman before thick red flames licked over her entire body; And though he could feel the heat of it, she just laid there, curled into herself like she didn't even realize that she was on fire.

" 'ow's she doin' that?!" Ned yelled out, still pinning Toony to the ground as he stared at Ali with eyes wide as saucers.

But before Roddy could answer, three medium sized figures suddenly barreled into him, knocking him off of his feet and into the ground just as Ned felt something tackle him from behind as well.

And when Toony was free to stand to her feet, she shook herself off and her eyes widened to see that a five little men, dwarfs, were dog piled upon her former captor.

But without wasting another second, Toony hurried over to where Ali lay, though she had to keep her distance because she could feel the heat from the flames coming off her.

"Ali!" Toony began, keeping her voice down so no one could hear her, though the noise from the dwarfs wrestling around did an excellent job distracting the spectators. "Ali, can you hear me?"

Ali slowly looked up, frightened tears brimming her eyes before they met with Toony's, and after a few moments, the flames upon her died down and she reached up and hugged Toony around her fluffy neck. Her body trembling from what happened earlier as she held her friend in a very tight grip.

"Hey, it's okay," the red dog whispered to her softly. "Look, those dwarfs came to help us, they're really giving those creeps a beating!"

"Dwarfs?" Ali asked with a slight waver in her voice as she looked up to see the squabble for herself.

"Ya think ya can just lay your hands on young maidens and push 'em 'round anytime ya feel like it?!" a almost familiar voice demanded from a dwarf that had thick red hair and a braided beard, catching Ali and Toony by surprise. "Well, I think ya ugly whelps'll see we won't sit on our bums an' tolerate such shameful actions!"

As they stared at him, the both came to the realization that the dwarf who spoke was in fact Glóin, the father of Gimli from 'The Lord of the Rings'

And as the two young women looked closely at the others, they could identify Bifur, Nori, Bombur, Óri and Óin as they pummeled away on Ned who didn't ever have a chance to try and defend himself. And Roddy was struggling with Glóin, Dori and Bofur.

Ali and Toony could only watch is stunned silence for what felt like hours before Ali was the first to break it, looking over to her friend who shared an equally surprised expression on her furry face.

"_J'y crois pas_, Toony, I..I think we've arrived at the time 'The Hobbit' took place." Ali began. "The company we're supposed to help are Bilbo and the thirteen dwarfs..."

"We're here to help Thorïn Oakenshield take back Erebor!"

Before Toony could reply, a loud booming voice suddenly spoke over her...

"That. is. enough!"

the crowd soon began to part, and Gandalf the Gray came stepping out onto the scene, his blue eyes fixed on the band of dwarfs as they ceased their fighting with the two men. And after sparing a glance to Ali and Toony, a smile soon came upon his face and he leaned on his staff and peered over at the dwarfs.

"Eight dwarfs against two simple men..." he stated. "Those odds don't seem entirely fair, now do they?"

"They was tryin' to hurt the lady here, Gandalf." Ori quickly spoke. "Pickin' on her when there was two of 'em wasn't at all fair, either!"

"Indeed...it wasn't." the wizard said with a wink of his eye before he turned his attention to a beaten Roddy and Ned as they tried to help each other up.

"I would suggest that you two slither back to whatever slum you stalked out from." Gandalf told them. "Unless of course you would rather continue your lashings with my stout friends here...the choice is entirely yours."

Roddy and Ned looked at the menacing looks the dwarfs all gave them before she shared a glance with each other. and after silently coming to an agreement, they scrambled over each other before they finally got to their feet and raced off through the crowd to disappear within unknown parts of the town

After things had quieted down and the crowed had thinned out, Glóin was the first to break from his band and walk up to stand before Ali as he held out a hand to her. "There now, lassie, those two sissy's won't be botherin' ya anymore."

Ali managed to give him a small, grateful smile before she took his hand and let him help her up. Her legs were a little shaky from the whole ordeal, but after a few seconds and feeling Toony standing close to her, she was fine.

"Fancy meetin' you here, Gandalf," Bofur suddenly stated, grinning in greeting. "Thought fer sure you woulda' been the first to arrive at the meetin' place."

"I had to pick up something first, Bofur." The wizard told answered. "Something that would better benefit in the success of our quest."

"Oh really?" the hat wearing dwarf asked curiously. "What'cha got? More swords? Gear?"

"I believe you've already had the pleasure of coming to their aid..." Gandalf said as he turned and presented Ali and Toony to them, giving the two young women a smile. "Meet your protectors."

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**Here we are, next up is chapter four, hopefully I'll have that up tomorrow :D:D:D**

**And for our intended translations…**

**_Oh, je sais,=_Oh I know,**

**_une telle fille douce.=_Such a sweet girl.**

**_juste un peu plus longtemps=_just a little longer**

**_Voyez-vous cela?=_Do you see that?**

**_Ne vous inquiétez pas=_Don't worry**

_**Vous êtes ainsi de suite!=**_**You're so on!**

**_d'accord?=_all right?**

**_Regardez ce=_Look at this**

**_Excusez-moi=_Excuse me**

**_Allons-y=_Let's go**

**_Laisse-moi partir!=_Let me go!**

**_J'y crois pas=_I don't believe it**

**_Thanks so much for reading!_**


	4. On the Road Again

**Oh wow, two chapters within 24 hours! I can't believe it!**

**_Well, probably because this was pretty short chapter, but I still hope you enjoy it :D:D:D_**

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_Chapter 4: On the Road Again_

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It didn't take long before Gandalf, the gray finally led the dwarfs, Ali and Toony out towards the front gates after the fight with the two men from before so they could continue on to the destination; But during the way back to their horses and ponies, Ali couldn't bring herself to meet any of their eyes as the events replayed over and over in her head.

After Gandalf had introduced them as the dwarf's protectors, all of them immediately burst into laughter as though he'd just told them a hilarious joke. And that made Ali feel angry and frustrated; not because they had laughed, because who could really blame them? No, it was because of how she handled herself in the situation she'd gotten herself in.

She was brought here because she was supposed to be a protector to them, to save _them_ when they were in trouble, but in the end, _she_ was the one who needed saving. As she looked down at her ring, her frown deepened as the thought that maybe the sacred jewel made a mistake in picking her to be its new master.

Because how was she supposed to protect an entire company when she couldn't even protect herself?

Toony, still in her canine form, gave a whine at Ali's shame filled expression before she nudged her furry head under her friends hand. If nothing else, to let her know that the young French woman wasn't the only one who messed up in their first ever fight. Ali gave a small, appreciative smile as she nodded down at her sister in thanks before the others suddenly halted before them as they made it to the front gates in order to ask for the gate keeper to retrieve their animals.

And it was in the time they were waiting that one of the dwarfs, Ori, suddenly broke away from the pack in order to speak to her.

"Hello, I don't think we've had the chance to be properly introduced yet." the youngest dwarf began with a friendly smile. "Most of my kinsmen aren't too keen with such long familiarities, but if you will allow me?"

Even though she already knew who each and every one of these dwarfs were very well, she still gave a nod to let him continue.

"Those two dwarfs there, the ones that have the red and silver beards, those are the brothers Glóin and Óin." Ori began as he pointed out the dwarves to her. "And the one with the axe in his head is Bifur, he's cousin to the brothers there, the one with the hat is Bofur and the big one is Bombur."

"And those are my elder half-brothers, Dori and Nori." he continued, gesturing over to one dwarf who had a shorter beard silvery white hair held back into tight braids and a younger dwarf whose brown hair resembled that of a star. "I'm Ori, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

"It's nice to meet you too, Ori, _Bonjour_." Ali said politely, allowing herself to smile. "My name is Alison, but you can call me 'Ali', and this is-"

"I like your dog, Lady Ali." The young dwarf cheerfully interrupted as he knelt down and heartily scratched along the thick hair around her neck with both hands as anyone would in meeting a new dog. "Such pretty red fur she has."

Toony silently tolerated the attention since they were still technically in town, but the positively uncomfortable and embarrassed expression on her face was just enough to make Ali let out a small giggle.

"_Oui_, she certainly does." She said giving her sister an apologetic smile.

"If I may be so bold, your accent is very strange, my lady." he commented as he stood back up with a rather curious expression on his face. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, I…I'm from a land far, _far _from here..._très loin_." she began hesitantly, a little unsure of how much she should say.

But thankfully, it seemed that she would have a little more time to come up with a better answer for that question when Gandalf finally announced that it was time to collect their steeds and be on their way.

And without a moment's hesitation after they were saddled up, they rode onward towards where the two women guessed would have to be the shire. where they would meet up the last of the fourteen members at Bag End before starting the biggest adventure of their lives.

For a good while, the walk was a quiet one; the dwarves would sometimes comment on things and talk amongst themselves about what they had been up to before now or what they were expecting to see, but for the most part, the would just stick to viewing the sights around them and casually smoke their pipes if they had them on hand.

Gandalf was at the head of the pack leading them to the shire as this was the first time the dwarves had been through these parts, and once they had entered deep into an area that was thick with trees and foliage, he suddenly had the company halt and he beckoned for Toony, who still remained as a dog while she traveled close to Ali, to come forward.

"My lady, I do believe that we are now far enough from prying eyes." He told her once she was close enough. "We have a bit of time to spare if you'd like to change into the cloths lady Ali has chosen for you while we are in the cover of the wood."

Before Toony could voice her eager agreement now that she finally could, she stopped when the dwarfs around all busted with loud guffaws.

"Gandalf, that's a _dog _yer speakin' so politely to." Bofur stated with a humorous chuckle as their laughing finally quieted down.

"Aye, what use would a dumb beast have fer cloths?" Nori asked as he and his other kinsmen began to laugh once again.

"This 'dumb beast' has plenty use for cloths, thank you!" Toony said sourly as she glared up at the dwarf with the star shaped hair do, making all of them immediately stop in their laughter as they stared down at her in shock.

"Did that dog just speak?" Óin asked as he shook his ear horn to see if there was something clogging it and making him hear things.

But before any of them could say something, Toony then used that time to finally shift back into her true form, her hands on her hips and her ears flat as her tail thrashed from side to side. And gray-green eyes glared at the dwarfs who stared back open mouthed in complete surprise.

"Yes. Yes I did." she said in an unimpressed tone before she turned heel and began walked over to her friend before she took the cloths she picked for her in her hands. "Ali, would you come with and help me? I see a corset in here and I have _no_ idea how to put those on."

"Sure Toony, _pas de problème_." Ali said, barely able to contain a snort of laughter from the whole situation as she slid off of Mia's back and followed the fox eared woman through the thick greenery as they left the seemingly frozen dwarfs behind them.

It didn't take too long for them to find a good secluded spot for Toony to change, and even as she admired the long green skirt and tan, off should blouse with small puff sleeves and frilly collar and the dark brown corset that lace up the front with black twine, that still couldn't stop her from grumbling to herself over the insults she received from the dwarfs.

"Sis, try not to be too angry at them, they really didn't know after all." Ali urged her red headed friend while she took her cloths so the other could better undress herself.

"Yeah, I know..." Toony said with a calming sigh as she unzipped the front of her hoodie, and shortly after that, a big grin appeared on her face. "Seeing the looks on their faces when I transformed more than made up for it, anyway, right?

"Haha, it really did." Ali agreed as she smiled back.

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***sings*Intended translatioooons**

**_Bonjour=_Hello**

**_Oui=_Yes**

**_très loin=_Very far**

**_pas de problème_=No problem**

**Welp, it's almost midnight and I'm tired, good night guys!**


	5. Bag End

**Alright, another chapter fixed up and posted, just got six more left now:D:D:D**

**I hope you guys enjoy the read!**

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_Chapter 5: Bag End_

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Needless to say, after Toony had revealed herself to her new traveling companions, the trip had fallen into a rather uncomfortable and awkward silence.

Some of the dwarfs would take a glance back at the strange woman, who had now taken the form of a red chestnut mare with a dappled hide, as she strode next to her friend and Mia the horse. The two of them didn't pay the dwarfs much attention, and whether it was because they just didn't have a lot to say or because Toony was still angry at them, they couldn't say for sure. But they were thankful when it didn't seem to be the later as they began to converse with each other.

Very nearly until sundown, they talked about their families and about themselves some, but most of what they said was hard to understand. 'T.V. shows', 'Disney movies', 'computers', and they couldn't figure out for the life of them what a 'DeviantArt' was or what 'online' friends were supposed to entail.

But from how they spoke of how jealous they would be if they ever had a chance to tell them that they were in Middle Earth, they assumed that they were just strange people with strange habits from a strange new land they had yet to discover.

"Come on, do it!" Toony suddenly whined. "I wanna hear it!"

"_Noooo_, not where everyone can hear!" Ali said, her fair, pale cheeks growing red. "_C'est embarrassant!_"

"Then just do it quietly, where I can hear it!" Toony told her. "Please sis? I always wanted to hear you sing, _pleeeease?_"

Toony then tried to give her best puppy face, it was a little hard with her equine features, but she managed to pull it off when Ali gave a defeated sigh. "Fine! _d'accord_, just give me a second..."

Toony was so excited that she did a little jumping prance, and to her surprise, a very horse like whiny escaped her mouth. But after a few moments of silence, she cleared her throat and gave a bashful smile. "Um...you were saying?"

_'Nous étions jeunes et larges d'épaules,_

_Bandits joyeux, insolents et drôles._

_On attendait que la mort nous frôle,_

_On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again. '_

She sang it so quietly, the Dwarves all tried to strain their hearing, save for Óin as his hearing had always been bad and took no notice of it, but they were interested in this new song, and the way Ali sang it with that strange language, it made them even more intrigued and a little enchanted with it...

_'Au petit jour on quittait l'Irlande _

_Et, derrière nous, s'éclairait la lande._

_Il fallait bien, un jour, qu'on nous pende._

_On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again.'_

Ali began to get a little louder by this time, unaware that she had more of an audience now besides her friend, but she was feeling a bit more comfortable and confident now.

_'La mer revient toujours au rivage. _

_Dans les blés mûrs, y'a des fleurs sauvages._

_N'y pense plus, tu es de passage. _

_On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again. '_

"Can any of ya understand what she's saying?" Glóin asked his kinsmen in a low voice so he wouldn't distract her.

"Not a word besides the 'on the road again' bit." Nori grunted out.

"But it's rather pretty all the same." Ori commented.

_'Nous étions jeunes et larges d'épaules._

_On attendait que la mort nous frôle._

_Elle nous a pris, les beaux et les drôles._

_On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again. '_

Toony was quiet as she listened to the song, her head bobbing along to the notes. She remembered the first time she heard it after her little sister sent a link of it to her once some time ago, and Toony thought it was absolutely beautiful.

And it was even better her Ali sing it herself.

_'Ami, sais-tu que les mots d'amour _

_Voyagent mal de nos jours. _

_Tu partira encore plus lourd. _

_On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again. '_

By now, Ali was very much enjoying herself as she sang for Toony, her voice getting softer as the song started to come to an end.

_'On the road again, again, _

_On the road again, again. _

_On the road again, again...'_

Once she was done, she gave a short gasp when she received a round of applause from Ori, Bofur and Bombur.

"Well done, my lady." Bofur complimented. "Very well done!"

"Yes, I very much enjoyed it as well." Dori said, giving the blushing woman a smile.

"I don't know, it seemed rather short ta me." Óin stated, only having heard some of the last bit of the song when Ali sang loud enough to finally catch his attention. "And I think she was singin' in a different language, was it elvish?"

"Not like any form of elvish I ever heard before." Glóin stated. "Can ya tell us what it is?"

"It...it's French." Ali told them in a soft voice, her face still as red as a tomato as she tried to avoid eye contact with any of them.

"French?" Bofur repeated curiously. "Sounds like some kind of strange food to me."

"You would." Toony said with a laugh when she saw Bombur nod his head vigorously in agreement with his kinsmens' statement. "It's the language of her homeland, she's from France."

That was when Bifer suddenly began to speak in that strange language and made little gestures with his hands. And once he was done, Toony and Ali only stared at him for a moment before they gave each other questioning looks.

Because of that ax in his head which left him only able to speak in the dark language, they couldn't understand a word he said.

"Bifer wanted to know about your homeland. where it is, and how far you had to travel to arrive to these parts." Gandalf called from the head of the pack. "Simply as he has never heard of such a peculiar place."

"Ah, well, um...that, is a _very_ good question," Toony began as she tried to rack her brain for an answer. "Uh...think we can get back to you on that?"

"What are ya, daft?!" Nori asked, shooting them a look. "Ya sing foreign songs, speak in a foreign tongue and you won't answer a few simple questions? Why can't ya tell us now?"

At that, the other dwarves all murmured in agreement, and when Toony's eyes shot over to Gandalf with an imploring gaze, the wizard simply looked on ahead with a light chuckle. As long as they didn't tell the dwarves that they were from another universe where their company was watched by many eyes on a regular basis, they were on their own in coming up with a tale.

"Oh, why you old-" Toony grumbled under her breath before Ali then took charge.

"We come from a place that's leagues away from this land, and our people like to keep to ourselves, _rester caché._" Ali told them. "We don't usually venture far, but when we do, we tend not to share too much with people we have only just met."

"So please forgive our reluctance to answer any questions about home."

Though they were obviously disappointment, they seemed to accept it as they knew a thing or two about keeping to themselves around folk they don't know or trust. But just as the two women were feeling relieved about not having to answer, Ori had a question of his own.

"Then can you answer us at least one about yourselves?" he asked.

"Maybe, it'll depend on what it is." Toony told him. "what's your question?"

"If you both come from the same far away land, why do you two seem so...different?" the youngest member asked. "We often hear you call each other sisters, yet you don't look much alike, and your accents are very different too."

At that, Toony and Ali both looked at each other…this was going to be super difficult.

Thankfully, they didn't have to come up with a believable explanation right away as Gandalf finally felt that it was necessary to step in and rescue the girls from answering anymore questions.

"Ah, we have finally reached the boundaries of the Shire..." He announced loudly, catching the full attention of the dwarven men. "I must tell you now that the Hobbits, those who reside in these sheltered lands, are a simple and peaceful folk. Anything extraordinary rarely ever happens within these parts."

"And with a company such as ours, we are bound to receive questioning glances and whispered remarks." The gray wizard continued. "So it would be in our best interest to move straight through to the meeting place as quickly and with as little interaction with the residents of the Shire as you can manage."

Nodding in understanding, the dwarves and the two young ladies fell into a silence once again once the sight of soft candlelight shining out withing the windows of those adorable hobbit holes that Toony and Ali were pleasantly familiar with.

Thankfully, they didn't meet much of any residents since most families were inside their little homes eating their supper. Being well fed with good food before bedtime was probably the most important thing to a hobbit after all, but they did meet a few stragglers who were only a few minutes late for their dinner.

And sure to what Gandalf said, every one of them regarded the group of strangers with leery unease.

But, being non-confrontational and laid back by nature, they simply hurried inside their homes and bolted their doors while the company headed on down the lane to the largest hobbit hole that waited for them at the end of the road high atop the rest...

Bag End.

"_Hé, regarde_, There's someone already there!" Ali stated as she pointed to the sight of two figures at the opened door before they disappeared inside.

"I do believe that was Fíli and Kíli , if me eyes're not mistaken." Glóin told them. "Wonder if anyone else has arrived, considering we've gotten here so late."

"We are not late, master Glóin, they are simply early." Gandalf corrected him as he and everyone else had their steeds stop next to four ponies who were already tied at the fence. And once they were sure that they were securely tied up, the dwarves did a little bit of dusting off their cloths before they knocked on the door; It had started out peaceful enough, but out of nowhere, the dwarfs suddenly started pushing each other and squabbling over who was going to be the first to enter and greet their host.

"There's nobody home!" The two women heard over the arguing from the inside of the hobbit hole. "Go away and bother somebody else!"

At this time, the dwarves were actually trying to push themselves against the door to insure a spot in first placement. Toony and Ali had tried to warn them that the door opened inward at first, but their stubborn male compatriots were a bit too preoccupied to hear them.

"There's far too many dwarves in my dining room as it is!" The stressed voice inside continued in a frustrated tone. "I-I-If this is some..._clotheads_ idea of a joke, hahaha, I can only say it is in very poor taste!"

And with that said, the door opened and in spilled the dwarves, crying out in surprise as they fell on top of each other at the feet of the hobbit that Ali, Toony and so many fans like them adored, Bilbo Baggins.

Bilbo only stood there with a flabbergasted expression on his face, he obviously didn't know that there would be this many dwarves at his door when only one or two at a time were showing up before. And looking up, he met eyes with Toony and Ali as they waved at him with smiles on their faces.

But as he glanced over to the tallest amongst them, his face fell in exasperated recognition as the tall gray wizard he met only a little bit ago bent down to meet his gaze.

"Gandalf…"

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_Later That Evening…_

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The evening went on in a very merry gathering as the dwarves greeted each other and hastily began setting the table with every morsel of food that was in Bilbos' pantry, much to the poor hobbits frustration.

Though with twelve dwarfs, one wizard and one more person on the way, there wasn't much room in the dining table for Toony and Ali to sit at. But the settled themselves comfortably in the other room across from all the hustle and bustle.

Dori, being one of the more proper mannered of the bunch, had graciously taken it upon himself to fix the two ladies up some plates of food and hot tea first before he joined his kinsmen and torn into their feast until there was nothing left of it while Toony and Ali quietly took their time on their meals.

"...Toony, I've been thinking about something." Ali suddenly started in a quiet voice as she paused in eating.

Her fox eared companion looked up at her in mid chew, but nodded her head to show that she was listening.

"I've thought about it a lot in fact, on the reason why we're here; _Depuis lors, à Bre_, and actually meeting with the original band of 14...do you realize this wonderful chance we have?" the French woman asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement, and surprisingly, determination.

Toony finally swallowed her mouthful of food, though before she had a chance to ask what Ali had meant, their conversation was interrupted.

"Would you care for a cool drink of water, my fair lady?" a voice asked before a cup of water appeared before her, making her look up to see Kíli gazing down at her with a smile.

"Oh thanks, but I think I'm good." Toony told him. "I'm still working on the tea Dori got-"

"Ha! Leave it to you to offer such a simple drink, brother." Fíli said, giving Kíli a nudge as he held out a mug that was filled to the brim with a golden ale. "Now this is sure to satisfy your tongue, fox ears!"

Toony had to sit back as all three cups very nearly bumped against her nose. "I really don't need-"

"Ale? That stuff would be too much for her." Bofur stated as he suddenly came into view between them with a dainty little glass in his hand. "A taste of fine red wine is more suited for a lady."

"Okay...thank you, then?" Toony said with a puzzled look at their weird behavior, but she still politely accepted the three beverages and placed them on the reading table by the cup she already had. "That's very, um, considerate of you three to get me some drinks."

"_Oui_, very considerate indeed." Ali said as she covered her mouth with a napkin to stifle a giggle at Toony's obvious cluelessness while the dwarfs went their separate ways with proud expressions on their faces.

"What's so funny?" Toony asked as she noticed that Ali shoulders were quivering with held in laughter. But her sister just shook her head, Toony would surely figure out why Kíli, Fíli and Bofur had acted in such a way on her own later.

Not long after that, their attention was brought over to the hall as Bilbo came back into view looking like he was about to have an anger induced stroke.

"I don't understand what they're doing in my house!" came his hushed, but agitated voice as he spoke to Gandalf before he put his hands on his hips and took in a breath to calm down just as Ori walked up to him with his empty dish.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt," The young dwarf said as politely as he could. "But what should I do with my plate?"

But before the hobbit could answer, that was when Fíli walked over and took the plate from his kinsmen. "Here you go Ori, give it to me."

And promptly threw it over to Kíli who, in turn, threw it to Bifur who was by the sink and cleaning the used dishes. Much to Bilbo's horror and Toony and Ali's delight, as they knew what was going to happen, before they quickly finished what was left of their dinners and shared the new drinks Toony was brought before.

"Ex-excuse me, that's my mother's west farthing crock-_it's over a hundred years old!_" the hobbit cried out as he was so sure he was going to lose all of his dishes.

"And could you not do that?!" He asked angrily at the dwarves who were chiming his silver wear against each other and pounding them on the table in a melodious fashion. "You'll blunt them!"

"Oooh, did'ja hear that lads?" Bofur started playfully in mock concern as his kinsmen chuckled humorously. "He says we'll blunt the knifes..."

_'Blunt the Knifes, bend the forks,'_ Kíli sang with a big grin on his face.

_'Smash the bottles and burn their corks,'_ Fíli added as he bounced more dish wear on his elbows before the other dwarves joined in.

_'Chip the glasses and crack the plaaaates..._

_That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!'_

All at once, the dwarves sprang into action, tossing dishes in the air and stacking them to almost impossible heights as they continued to tease the high-strung hobbit.

_'Cut the cloth, tread on the fat,_

_Leave the bones on the bedroom mat,_

_Pour the milk on the pantry floooor_

_Splash the wine on every door!'_

It was such a treat for the two women to witness such a fun spectacle firsthand. They had considered just holding their own dishes until the dwarves were finished, but the two figures of Kíli and Fíli rolling in room before they took the plates and cups from their hand and tossed them into the fray.

After which, Kíli, who had taken Toonys' dishes, gave her a wink of an eye...which she thought was weird, but didn't dwell on it too much when the two brothers rejoined their kinsmen.

_'Dump the crock in a boiling bowl,_

_Pound them up with a thumping pole,_

_When you finished, if they are whoooole_

_Send them down the hall to roll!'_

The song was finally starting to come to a close and everyone was having such a merry time, with the exception of Bilbo, even Gandalf joined in a bit by blowing smoke rings for bowls and plates to pass through before the Hobbit pushed through the crowd to assess the damage he was sure to see...

Only to find every dish, glass and utensil cleaned and stacked neatly on the table without so much as a chip or crack anywhere on them.

_'That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!'_

After they were done, the dwarves erupted with laughter at Bilbo's stupefied expression, some even clapping the hobbit in the shoulder good naturedly as he managed to crack a small smile himself. With no harm done, even he could admit that it was a very impressive way to put up dishes.

_Knock...Knock...Knock._

And there it was...those three loud, powerful knocks on the door that brought the once lively atmosphere under a deafening and somber silence as every head turned towards the front door of the cozy little home.

"...he's here." Gandalf stated softly.

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**Poor Bilbo, I can certainly understand why he'd get so agitated when a bunch of random people would show up and eat all his food when all he wanted was a quiet evening at home XD.**

_**~French Translations~**_

**_C'est embarrassant!=_It's embarrassing!**

**_d'accord=_All right**

**_rester caché=_Stay hidden**

**_Hé, regarde=_Hey, look**

**_Depuis lors, à Bre=_Since then, in Bre**

**_Oui_=Yes**

**_And the song is called 'On the Road Again' by Bernard Lavilliers. Thank you so much guys!_**


	6. Thorïn Oakenshield

**Hey guys, just getting another chapter up :D:D:D:D I hope you all enjoy the read!**

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_Chapter 6: Thorïn Oakenshield_

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"...he's here." Gandalf stated in a soft tone.

Once they heard that, Toony and Ali both shared looks with each other as they squeezed each other's hands as they both mentally gave fan girlish squeals at the realization that _Thorïn Oakenshield_ finally arrived.

"_Oh mon Dieu_, Toony, it's _him!_" Ali whispered excitedly before she suddenly started to smooth her hair and dust off the front of her dress. "Do I look okay? Oh, I'm so nervous, I feel like I have butterflies... "

Toony giggled at her friend's little tizzy, it was understandable that she was so excited to actually have the chance meet Thorïn. He had a very special place in her heart, and her adoration for him always showed through with such clarity in every picture she would post and every fanfiction she'd write. But now they were here, in Bag End with the very person she so admired just behind the door...and it was adorable for Toony to see her this way.

"You look beautiful sis." Toony told her sincerely. "Don't worry."

They watched in eager silence as Gandalf stood to his feet and slowly watched to the door and opened it to let in their final guest...

"Gandalf." they heard his voice begin before Thorïn, dressed in that dark fur coat with long, wavy dark hair with white strands and storm blue eyes, walked in through the door as he gave the wizard a small half smile. "I thought you said this place would be easy to find."

"I lost my way, twice. I'd never have found at all had it not been for that mark on the door."

"Mark?" Bilbo started in confusion as Thorïn then took notice that there were two women here as well. Ali didn't really know what to do as she avoided his gaze while a deep red blush appeared on her cheeks, but Toony offered him a friendly smile and waved a hand in greeting; But after he just stared at them a bit with an indifferent expression, he simply turned back towards Gandalf and the Hobbit that was to be the burglar he was in need of. "There is no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!"

"There is a mark, I put it there myself." Gandalf confessed, looking away as the little hobbit gave him with a glare. "Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company...Thorïn Oakensheild."

"So...this is the hobbit." The dwarven lord started, looking Bilbo up and down. "Tell me mister Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked, watching as the stranger suddenly began to circle him.

"Ax or sword, what's your weapon of choice?" Thorïn questioned before he came to stand before their host once more.

"Well, I do have some skill at conkers, if you _must_ know." Bilbo started with a rather frustrated air. "But I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Thought as much..." Thorïn stated, looking behind at his kinsmen with a slight smirk. "He looks more like a grocer than a burglar."

That earned laughter from everyone but Gandalf, Bilbo and the two women that were present before they all headed back into the dining room to feed their leader and discuss the matters that they all gathered here in the first place.

It had been a while since the dwarves had sat back down along with Gandalf and Bilbo, talking to their leader as they asked whether their other kinsmen in the Iron Hills would come and aid them while Toony and Ali were once again left sitting quietly in the living area as there was no room for them.

But they didn't mind, they already knew what was going and what they would be talking about. But Ali had her eyes on Thorïns' back the whole time, thinking hard and long about something before she gave a nod to herself...

"..._Je veux le sauver._ " she suddenly whispered, making Toony's ears flick as it was a bit too quiet for her to hear.

"What was that, Ali?" Toony asked her

"It's what I've been thinking of when I realized that we were going to be going on this journey... I think we were summoned here not only to help Thorïn and his company return to Erebor, but to save him too."

so that's what she had meant earlier, but as good of a reason as it sounded, Toony bit her bottom lip in thought as worries entered her mind.

"But...what if it's not? Ali, making that kind of change...who knows what would happen afterwards." She said. "What if we get in some kind of trouble?"

"I don't care about that, it's what I want to do, Toony. I just _have _to try and save Thorin from his fate, and Fíli and Kíli too." "I want to save them all, _Je dois_."

"Then...I'll help you in any way I can, Ali." Toony promised, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And if it comes time to face the music, we'll do it together."

"ENOUGH!" came Gandalf's roar from the dining room, effectively making the two women jump in their seats as they looked over to the company who was cowering under the imposing wizard as a dark cloud seemed to spread throughout the room with his anger. "If I say Bilbo Baggins is a burglar than a burglar he is."

The entire place fell utterly quiet, no one willing to say another word against the wizard's choice in the fourteenth member like they had before.

"Hobbits are remarkable light on their feet." Gandalf continued, rather heatedly. "In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose."

"And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him which gives us a distinct advantage."

"You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen mister Baggins." He told Thorin as the dwarf still held a rather unimpressed expression on his weathered face. "There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest."

"And he's got a great deal more to offer than any of you know!" he added as he shot a look to the bewildered hobbit as he stared up at the gray wizard in awe at how much belief he held in him. "...including himself."

That was then Gandalf finally grew quieter as he spoke to the heir of Erebor while Bilbo started shaking his head and trying to tell them 'no' to whatever they were discussing before Thorin finally turned to Balin.

"Give him the contract." he instructed before Balin pulled out a long parchment of paper and put it in the hobbit's hands. Even though Bilbo was still trying to say that he wasn't interested in what they wanted him to do, that Tookish curiosity got the better of him and he started reading through the contract.

But then he started to grow concerned the more he read.

"_Incineration?_" he asked, peering at the dwarves, dearly hoping that what was written was just a joke.

"Oh aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur told him with a nod

At that, Bilbo looked away and staggered a bit on his feet and looked like he was going to lose his dinner at any moment.

"...Ya alright, laddie?" Balin asked

"huh? Yeah I thi-" The hobbit started before he suddenly leaned over and put his hands on his knees. "...feel a bit faint."

"Think furnace...with wings." Bofur continued, his eyes a lite with mischievousness as he stood to his feet to get closer to the poor hobbit as he turned greener by the second.

"I-I-I need air..."

"Flash of light, searing pain then _poof_..." the dwarf continued, looking like he was having the time of his life teasing the hobbit like this. "You're nothing more than a pile of ash."

Bilbo staggered once again until he firmly planted his feet and looked back over to the dwarves as they all watched in silence.

"...nope" the hobbit finally said as he fell into a dead faint.

Once Bilbo finally collapsed on the floor, Toony and Ali were on their feet and hurrying to the hobbits side to see if he was alright. They knew that he would be after a bit, but that still didn't stop them from feeling concerned about him.

"Oh you guys." Ali started in disapproval, though she and Toony were unable to hold back their grins. "_Vous êtes si mauvais!_"

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_Later The Night…_

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It didn't take as long as everyone thought for Bilbo to awaken, but no words were exchanged when he was ushered to another room by Gandalf as the wizard wanted to speak to him alone for a bit; and it was then that all the dwarves filed into the living area where Toony and Ali had been sitting.

And after a while of waiting to hear from Gandalf or Bilbo, Thorïn had finally saw fit to speak to them both...

"I had thought I mentioned to the wizard that this was to be a private meeting..." Thorïn started, making the girls feel like they were in some police interrogation for something terrible. "Just what are the two of you doing here?" he asked.

Toony and Ali shared looks with each other at first, then Ali cleared her throat and turned back to him, trying to keep the nervous waver out of her voice as she spoke.

"Well, Gandalf might be a better person to ask once he's done talking to-"

"I'm asking you." Thorïn interrupted, his frosty blue eyes almost clashing with Ali's warm amber ones with such an intensity that it made her choke up a bit. "What is your purpose here?"

"They are here to help you, of course." came Gandalf's voice as he and Bilbo came back to the living area after hearing the bit of commotion. "Chosen by the sacred jewels of old, they can offer a significant amount of help along your journey."

"I'll not have them in this company." Thorïn immediately said in a firm tone. "I'm in need of fighters, and a quest such as this has no place for soft handed women who would only get in our way."

"_Excusez-moi?!_" Ali nearly yelled out in anger, losing all of her nervousness and timidity at his brusk and dismissive remark. Toony held her arm to prevent her from saying anything more, but she looked just as offended.

"Well aren't you just a champion of women's rights!" she told him sarcastically.

"I assure you, Thorïn, these young ladies are far more gifted then what they appear to be." Gandalf started before he turned to the pair of off landers. "Lady Toony, if you would be so kind to step forward first."

Toony couldn't help but sneer at the unassuming expression the heir of Erebor gave her while she tried to come up with something that would impress him. And after a while, she finally stood to the middle of the room and without breaking eye contact, she shifted into the form of a large tiger and let out a roar that seemed to shake the trimmings of the hobbit hole.

Bilbo actually jumped a foot in the air in shock while the four dwarfs that made it to Bag End first looked at her in surprise, even the dwarfs that they traveled here with who already knew of her shape shifting abilities gazed upon her new, intimidating form with awe.

The only ones who seemed relatively unaffected was Gandalf and, more frustratingly, Thorïn, who only sat back a bit in his chair while that stoic expression remained on his face.

"That is but a portion of the power lady Toony holds." Gandalf said. "As a chosen one of the Fey Kelva emerald, she can take the form of all of nature's creatures, large and small. I haven't any doubt that her gifts will be most helpful on your quest."

"And now, lady Ali, if you please..." Gandalf started; But the French woman hesitated, even shaking her head no as her eyes grew wide in a bit of fear.

She didn't want to try and use her powers yet...

"It's alright my dear, just a little demonstration." the wizard said with an encouraging smile.

After Toony gave her a gentle nudge, Ali stepped forward, gulping down the knot in her throat as she lifted her hand up and allowed a small bit of fire to appear around it. Taking great care to keep her eyes trained on the floor so she wouldn't lose her nerve at the sight of it.

"Chosen by the Uur-Anar ruby, Lady Ali can conjure and manipulate flames at will, the greater her feelings, the greater the fire." Gandalf told the company. "Her gifts can save her closest allies and destroy her greatest foes in an instant as she so chooses."

At the word 'destroy', Ali felt her heart leap into her throat when the flames unintentionally got bigger and she quickly flicked her arm in order to snuff if out. But to her horror, she accidentally launched a fireball on the corner of the rug in the middle of the room.

"FIRE!" Bilbo cried as he, and Ali in her fear, ran over and started stomping on the flames. The dwarves all seemed to have a good laugh with this, but Ali wasn't laughing at all as she seemed close to tears at her mistake.

"Oh Bilbo, _Je suis désolé!_" she cried when they finally got the flames extinguished and the hobbit bent down to examine the damage. "I didn't mean too, I swear!"

"It- it's quite alright..." Bilbo assured her, even as it was clear he was trying not to lose his temper because Ali was obviously so distraught over it. "It was an old rug, I've been meaning to get another one anyway."

"I'm just...I'm just gonna go to bed now, before anything _else_ happens."

As the hobbit scurried out of the living area to his bedroom in the back, Thorin walked up to the wizard with an intense look in his eyes.

"They are not in full control of these gifts." Thorïn suddenly stated to Gandalf in a low voice as they watched Toony to try and console her friend before a few of his kinsmen helped the ladies roll the rug up.

"No." the wizard said truthfully. "But that will change, in time, as the journey ahead is a long one. And considering the fact that your other dwarven kinsmen have refused to aid you on this quest, it would be rather foolish to turn away two souls chosen by sacred jewels who are willing to help your company when their single downfall is that they are endowed with power they have only just begun to grasp."

"...I will allow them a chance, as I have with your hobbit." Thorïn "But my condition stands all the same...I'll not be responsible for any of them should they parish on this journey."

"And that is all I ask." Gandalf affirmed with a slight nod.

With everything finally said and done, Thorïn gave an exasperated sigh through his nose, sending another cold glance towards Ali and Toony before he left to rejoin his kinsmen and be among familiar faces.

Afterwards, Ali slumped over a little with a sad, downcast expression...sure, she didn't expect Thorïn to be entirely thrilled about having Toony and herself in the company, but she didn't think that he would be so adamantly against it like this…but could she really blame him?

It was very uncommon for even mortal women to take part in things that were potentially dangerous in the first place. And even though they had such amazing powers thanks to the sacred jewels, she didn't exactly put herself in a very convincing light after the blunder with poor Bilbos rug...

Almost as if she knew what she was thinking, Ali felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to Toony as she offered her a comforting smile, but the French woman felt a little too down to return it...

"Excuse me, my ladies," came the voice of Dori as they looked over to see him walking towards them with a couple of blankets and pillows. "I apologize for there not being proper accommodations, but these are sure to make you a wee bit more comfortable for the night."

"Thank you, Dori, that's very kind of you." Toony said as she took the blankets from him with a grateful smile. "But what about you?"

"Oh, don't worry about us any, we have our own." Dori assured. "You two get plenty of rest, we've a long road ahead of us in the morning."

The two ladies nodded in understanding as Toony got up first and went into the hall to be out of the way as the dwarves didn't seem ready to go to bed just yet. And as she was making up their space to sleep, Ali looked back to the dwarven lord as he began to fix up his pipe along with some of the others.

And after a few moments, she gave a small sigh as she got up and joined Toony just as she finished setting things up and laid down beside her.

It didn't take long for her sister to fall into a deep sleep, but Ali just couldn't at first as her eyes moved over each dwarf, taking in the somber expression before they came to rest upon the form of Thorïn. She wanted so badly to prove to him that they could help, but how could she when she was so afraid to use her powers? She didn't want to hurt any of them, especially not Thorïn.

But she didn't dwell on those thoughts for long when the voices humming an all too familiar song reached her ears...

_'Far over, the misty mountains cold_

_to dungeons deep, and caverns old_

_we must away ere break of day_

_to find our long forgotten gold'_

Thorïns' voice was just as chilling and haunted as it was in the film, and as he gazed into the fireplace at the dancing flames, Ali couldn't help but feel her heart go out to him once again at the quiet anger that smoldered behind those beautiful eyes as he no doubt was thinking of the home that was taken from him so long ago.

_'The pines were roaring on the height_

_The winds were moaning all through the night_

_The fire was red, its flaming spread_

_The trees like torches blazed with light...'_

Their song seemed to drift deep into the night, and once they had finished, Ali felt newfound determination spark within her once again.

Fear or not, she would do everything she could to help these dwarves, help them stay safe and reclaim their homeland from that terrible dragon...and after that, she would make sure that Thorïn and his nephews would survive the battle of the five armies.

Or die trying!

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**Keep an eye out, depending on how the day goes, I may get another chapter fixed up and posted :D:D:D**

_**~French Translatinos~**_

**_Oh mon Dieu=_Oh my God**

**_Je veux le sauver=_I want to save him**

**_Je dois=_I have to**

**_Vous êtes si mauvais!=_You're so bad!**

**_Excusez-moi?!=_Excuse me?!**

**_Je suis désolé!=_I'm sorry!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Bath Troubles

**Yaaaay! Not long now before I'm caught up with all the chapters :D:D:D**

**And I'd like to give a big thank you to Steelcode for all of you wonderful reviews! And to answer your question about my 'Lion King' story, I'm still working on the next chapter and I should be finishing it up soon(hopefully). **

**I just wanted to post what I already had for this story because it's pretty special to me since it was created between me and a very good friend. Got 4 chapters left and then it'll go on hiatus until I get more of my other fanfictions completed :3 :3 :3**

**Thank you so much again!**

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_Chapter 7: Bath Troubles_

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Barley at the crack of dawn, Ali was the first to wake up because of the hustle and bustle that was going on inside that cozy little hobbit hole; And while she really would have gathered few more hours of sleep, it was impossible to fall back asleep from the aching muscles in her back and the crick in her neck from sleep on a hard wood floor.

So with a sigh, she grabbed her red rimmed glasses and sat up to watch the dwarven men go this way and that, cleaning up Bilbo's home while the hobbit was sleeping.

"Good morning my lady." came a cheery voice as Ori came to stand before her with a big smile. "My kinsmen and I are almost done picking up, so you may want to consider waking lady Toony fairly soon."

Ali returned the smile and nodded before he hurried off again to join the others in cleaning and gathering their things. And as she turned to the side, she gave a snort to see her friend sleeping there with her mouth open slightly and her long curly hair sprawled out every which way about her head.

"Toony, _se lever_, come on now." the French woman began, shaking Toony's shoulder gently. "I think we'll be leaving soon sis."

"Mmm _Nuuu_, uh-uh..." her fox eared companion mumbled, before she grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her head.

Getting a wicked idea, Ali suddenly lifted her hands, her fingers wiggling in anticipation before she went in for the kill and started to mercilessly tickle Toony in her ribs.

"Ack! Ali!" Toony cried out as she jerked and tried to squirm away. But she didn't get very far because the blanket trapped her limbs. So when she finally got free, she retaliated with a flurry of tickles as well before their fun was cut short by Dwalin.

" Oi! We haven't the time for children games!" he said gruffly, making Ali and Toony feel like two little girls who were being scolded for horsing around in the wrong place.

"Sorry." Toony apologized.

And after Dwalin gave a grumbling scoff and walked off, Toony and Ali looked back at each other and let out snickers of laughter before they got to their feet and picked up their blankets and pillows.

It wasn't long before the hobbit hole was void of anything that said it housed a wizard, two woman and 13 rowdy dwarven men the night before. and with their things in hand, they all filed out where Gandalf awaited them on his horse with the dwarf's ponies, all saddled up and waiting for their riders.

Ali couldn't help but smile when she saw her mare, Mia, who pawed at the ground with her hoof and looking happy to see her as well.

"_Bonjour Mia, ma bonne fille_." Ali greeted in a cooing voice as she stroked her horses' neck affectionately. "Let's take good care of each other."

The dwarves then began making sure that they had all of their things as well as placing that humorous bet on whether or not Bilbo would end up changing his mind about joining their company as Toony walked past Fíli and Kíli.

The two of them quickly racing ahead of her.

"Good morning my lady!" Kíli greeted, trying to step in front of his brother before Kíli just shoved him to the side.

"A beautiful morning, isn't it?" Fíli asked.

"Oh aye, a very beautiful morning it is indeed." Bofur said as he came up to join them as well, much to the distaste of the two brothers. "Though it can hardly compare to the beauty I see before my eyes."

"...good morning?" she started in an uncertain tone, wondering why they were behaving so strangely like they did last night...

"Aria here is a very gentle mare," Bofur told her as he patted the rump on his pony. "You can ride her with me if you'd like."

"Of, if you prefer, you are more than welcome to share Chestnut with me." Kíli counter offered.

"There should be plenty of room with me and Hazelnut!" Fíli quickly chimed in.

Toony took a startled step back when they suddenly started to wrestle around with each other, almost angrily before she cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Uh, thanks for the offer, guys, but A, I'm seriously allergic, otherwise I'd ride with Ali. And B, I'd just end up squishing the poor things because they're ponies." Toony told them as she soon shifted into her mare form once again, making their eyes widen in surprise. "Besides, I pretty much got this."

And with a flick of her tail, she was following after Gandalf, Thorïn and Balin as they were the first to start off, leaving the three dwarves standing there with such disappointed expressions that Ali had to feel sorry for them.

Though she still couldn't help but let out a quiet bought of laughter as the reason for their attention seemed to have gone over her sister's head once again.

"Let's move!" Thorïn called out to the company before they finally started out on their incredible journey.

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_Hours Later…_

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Needless to say when Bilbo finally caught up with them, running up and waving the contract that he had signed over his head like a mad man, many of the dwarves who had bet that he would be a no show were very disappointment to part with the coins they had lost.

It was funny for the two women to see firsthand how out of place he seemed, holding Myrtles reigns awkwardly and jumping with every jerk and toss of her head. But he grew more accustomed to it in the miles and miles they trekked until the sun was at its highest.

Though for Toony, while the air outside was a bit chilly, Toony felt like she was trotting on an inclined treadmill inside a sauna. She didn't wear a saddle, which she was most grateful for, but she could still feel that her back and belly damp with sweat as well as little beads of perspiration trickling down her neck through her fur.

But after a while of trying her best to ignore it, especially when flies suddenly appeared out of nowhere, she could finally stand no more.

"Alright, this has gone on far enough!" Toony said as she came to a sudden stop, making half the company that was behind her stop in their tracks as well. "I'm putting my foot down, all four of them!

"I have _got_ to have a bath!"

"We are miles from the nearest bath house." Thorïn told, him, visibly annoyed that the troop was stopped because of such a trivial need. "And even if we weren't, I would not stop this company simply because you feel a bit dirty."

"I don't need a bath house, just a quick dip in a river I can hear running in that direction." Toony told him with a quick head jerk to the left. "And I can handle a bit of dirt, it's the flies I can't stand!"

"You guys may not totally be bothered by them buzzing around, but you're not the ones who are _literally _sweating like horse here!" she added, grimacing a bit. "They're swarming me and it's disgusting!"

Thorïn just stared down at her with an expression that would normally make someone rethink whatever they were doing, but Toony could be stubborn too!

"All I'm asking for is 20 minutes." She told him. "Just twenty minutes to take a quick wash and then come back. All of you can rest up and have a snack or smoke! Just do whatever in the meantime."

"Oh come on, Thorïn, it's only for a short time." Bofur called up to his leader. "I'm sure she'll be back before we'd even light our pipes."

"...very well, we shall all take a short rest." Thorïn relented.

"Thank you Bofur." Toony said in appreciation for coming to her aid, making his face light up with a proud smile while Fíli and Kíli seemed to glower at the praise he received as she shifted back into her human form and started through the woods with a flick of her tail.

"Lady Ali, I hope you won't think this too presumptuous of me," Ori began. "But maybe while we wait for lady Toony, we can use this time to ask you questions of your home."

"Yeah, I know I have a few of me own I'd like answers to." Nori agreed

"Like where this 'France' land is for that matter!" Fíli added with interest. "Glóin mentioned that was where you and Toony are from."

Ali stared wide eyed at them, she had been too busy listening to the tales the dwarves had been telling about themselves, and staring at Thorïn's back which she would never admit to, to even think of coming up with something to tell them if they ever started asking about herself again!

But at that moment, the idea of a bath sounded very appealing.

"Uuuh, sorry, that will have to wait for later." she told him quickly as she dismounted Mia and put her back on the saddle next to Toonys'. "Toony, _Attendre_, I'll come with you!" Ali called after she dismounted Mia and put her pack on Mia's saddle next to Toony's.

She then handed the reigns to Dori, who offered to take them from her like the polite gentledwarf he was before she hurried after her sister.

It didn't take too long for them to find the river, but long enough where they had to quickly wash themselves up before the assured time limit was up.

The rushing waters of the river was a such welcoming sight to the two young woman as they carefully hung their dresses and cloaks on a low hanging brandy of a tree so they would get dirty or end up with spiders or insects crawling all over it before Toony was the first to walk down in the water.

She took in a sharp gasp as how cold it was, but she just made herself fall into the water to get the shock over with and popped up just as Ali was coming in as well.

"_Oh mon Dieu!_" She exclaimed as she hugged herself when she began to shiver. "It's freezing!"

"It'll get better, just dunk in and get it over with!" Toony said, though while it did start to warm up some, the fast current still made it stay almost too cold to deal with.

When Ali finally did as Toony instructed, they waded to a area where small, thick, tree-like bushes were growing into the water on either side, making a small little spot were the current was a lot more gentle and proceeded to wash dirt, sweat and whatever else they had accumulated on themselves during the couple days they had spent in middle earth so far while they talked about what to do or say now that the dwarves were starting to ask questions again.

"So we should probably come up with some ideas about what to tell the dwarves about us, _faire un plan._" Ali said while she scrubbed water through her short dark hair with her fingers. "Maybe we can share some idea's, make plot ideas together like we do for fanfictions and RP's."

"That sounds like a good plan." Toony said as she rubbed at her arms. "Why don't you go first?"

"Here's what I was thinking...they already know that our land is far away and that we've been hiding from the people of Middle Earth so they wouldn't know about us..." Ali began. "So maybe we can tell them that we have a very powerful mage who conjured up a kind of veil that hides us from sight and-"

But a loud snapping sound suddenly reached Toony's ears over the rushing river and the fox tailed woman snapped her head towards the thick bushes at the bank.

"Shh! Ali, get down!" Toony suddenly hissed as she dropped low into the river until nothing but her head was above the water, startling the French woman to immediately follow in suit.

"Toony?" Ali asked with worry, "What's wrong?"

Toony jut put a finger to her lips and motioned her to stay put for now before she slowly sank into the water, turning herself into a trout and started swimming closer to the bank.

It was a weird sensation, being a fish, breathing underwater just as well as she did air, Toony may have found it fun if she didn't think she and Ali were in danger. When she finally made it to the bank, she squinted her eyes and tried to see if she could spot anything out of the ordinary through the rippling surface...and she did!

Toony couldn't see them all that well, but she could tell that there were three figures crouching down just behind the bushes where she and Ali had been washing.

Seeing that, Toony felt a rush of anger and she started backing up a bit, making sure to keep a lock on the soon to be dead perverts before she gave a strong flick of her silver tail and took off like a torpedo towards the bank. Launching herself out of water with a blood curdling snarl as she instantaneously shifted into a huge, red furred she-wolf.

The three spies all let out screams of shock and surprise at the unexpected attack and pinned down by a ferocious wolf that came out of thin air. But as Toony saw their faces, she sat back with a look of disbelief.

"Kíli?!" She exclaimed. "And Bofur and Fíli too?!"

"_Quoi?!_" Ali demanded as she peeked over the bushes just enough so she wouldn't show herself. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"It's not what it looks like my lady!" Fíli started as Toony backed away and let them sit up.

"Really? Because it sure looks like three dwarven men are out here perving around and peeping on two girls trying to take a bath!" She said.

"No really! It's not like that at all!" Kíli said in a hasty tone as they quickly stood to their feet, making Ali let out a short _'Eep!'_ before she ducked back down behind the bushes completely as they were almost high enough to see her.

"What did you hear?!" Toony interrupted, narrowing her light eyes down at them.

"Nothing! we were only-" Fíli and Kíli started quickly, but they immediately shut up as a deep growl rumbled in Toonys' chest.

"Well, just some bit about mage a-and something about a veil, but the river was too loud and we couldn't hear much!" Bofur finally said. "That's the honest truth!"

They seemed to be sincere about it for the most part, so Toony just let out a heated sigh.

"We'll discuss this more after Ali and I are dressed!" She told them angrily. "Now get out of here!"

"But we-" Fíli started, though he wasn't able to say anything more as Toony let out another vicious snarl and charged them. Teeth bared and snapping at their retreating heels until they had finally left them alone.

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_Back with the Company…_

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After Toony and Ali finally returned back to the company to confront the three dwarfs who were standing off to the side and looking rather nervous while Gandalf, Bilbo and their kinsmen watched on while they prepared to go on with the journey as the two obviously disgruntled women marched up to them.

But as Toony looked down at their feet, a fresh wave of anger washed over her to see that both her and Ali's backpacks were off Mia's saddle and opened up with the contents haphazardly stuff inside after being looked through.

"You were rooting around in our stuff?!" Toony yelled, already knowing the culprits for the sheer disregard of their privacy. "Alright, you three peeping toms' have exactly ten seconds to explain yourselves!"

"Why were you spying on us?!" Ali chimed in, just as angry as Toony at the violation as flames started to appear about her arms. "_Dépêche-toi!_ Be quick about it or I'll get in some practice with my powers!"

"We meant no harm my ladies, we only wanted to understand you better!" Bofur said.

"You and lady Ali don't talk much about yourselves, so we thought we could find answers in your belongings." Kíli admitted.

"But we got more questions than answers." Fíli said. "Why are the garments of your land so different? And what are these strange objects?"

He and Kíli then held out their phones in the open, the two women wanted to keep yelling at them, but they should have known that the dwarfs would have tried to find out something about them, so it was just as much their fault too.

"Alright, I guess we have been a little..._less_ than forthcoming about ourselves and honestly, we should have expected that you would try and find out more about us one way or another." Toony said as she calmed down. Though she still crossed her arms arms tightly and she peered at them with a suspicious gaze. "But you couldn't have waited to ask us here rather than track us down while we were in the middle of bathing because _why_ exactly?"

At that, their mouths opened and shut for a few minutes before they shared gazes with each other and looked back at the two women waiting on an explanation.

"I tried to stop them my lady! But they wouldn't listen!" Fíli suddenly started, selling out his partners in crime.

"What?!" Kíli exclaimed in outrage.

"You lying son of a-" Bofur started, just as angry. "You wanted to go too!"

"Only because you said we'd get answers if we listened in on them have their 'woman talk'!" Fili defended. " Not because we might catch a glimpse of poor lady Toony like _you_ hoped to!"

At that, they suddenly started fighting amongst each other, cursing and wrestling around so fiercely that Toony and Ali had to take a step back with astonished looks while the other dwarves all laughed and cheered in amusement until Toony finally had enough of listening to them bicker.

"_SHUT UP!_" she roared, making the three of them freeze and look over at the young woman who had her ears laid back and her tail swishing in agitation.

"Why are you fighting?!" She demanded. "Geeze, you guys are acting like a bunch of hormone driven boys who're competing over-"

But before she could finish, her light eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open as it finally clicked.

"_SERIOUSLY?!_" She yelled. "Do you three honestly go around trying to court any girl that crosses your path and not even bother to ask if she's even available?!"

"What do you mean, my lady?" Kíli asked, as confused as his brother and kinsmen.

"What I mean, Kíli, is that I'm already _married!_" she shouted as she held up her left hand and showed them the golden band on her finger with a diamond glinting right in the middle. Effectively making all three of them drop their jaws in disbelief and embarrassment.

"Good freaking God! You bunch of thick skulled-wasting all this time-_never_, in all my life have I ever gotten such a headache! And _you!_" she added, rounding on Ali who had lost her angry expression at the whole thing as she was struggling to keep from laughing too much. "Since it's obvious you knew, thanks for not telling me what was going on!"

"_Je suis désolé,_ sis, but it's just so funny!" Ali said, trying without success to stifle her giggles "Were you really that clueless?"

"YES!" Toony cried, throwing her hands up in the air and making Ali unable to hold back even more laughter. "Holy muffins, I've only ever been on a handful of dates with one guy in my whole life and then I married him!

"I don't know how to tune in on that stuff when _I'm_ the one it's being focused on anymore!"

"This is going to stop and it's going to stop right now!" Toony growled down to the three of them. "Do you understand me?!"

Unable to really say anything, the three dwarves just gave rapid nods of their heads.

"Good!" she growled. "And as for any questions you may have, Ali and I will tell you about ourselves when _we_ are good and ready to!"

And with that, she shifted back into a mare, her ears laid back against her head and blowing out a snort of air through her nostrils before she turned around and marched off along the path, every dwarf watching her until she suddenly stopped and looked back at them.

"...I don't know where I'm going!" She yelled back at Thorïn and Gandalf in frustration. "Do you want to head out or not?!"

Every person, minus the three reprimanded dwarfs, let out loud guffaws of laughter. Even Thorïn shared the barest hint of a smirk with their wizard companion as he started up the path. And as Ali as mounted Mia and followed after them with the rest close behind, she could help but feel her heart warm at what she saw...

Though it was small, she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was when he smiled. Part of her wished that it was she who brought it to him, but the journey was still young. They very well could have many fond moments to share...

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**~French Translations~**

**_se lever=_Get up**

**_Bonjour Mia, ma bonne fille=_Hello Mia, my good girl**

**_Attendre =_Wait up!**

**_Oh mon Dieu!=_Oh my God!**

**_faire un plan=_make a plan**

**_Quoi?!=_What?!**

**_Dépêche-toi!=_Hurry up!**

**_Je suis désolé=_I'm sorry**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D:D:D**


	8. Watched in the Night

**Another chapter up and posted, I would have had done sooner, but a few things just came up yesterday XP XP XP**

**I hope you enjoy!**

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_Chapter 8: Watched in the Night_

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For the rest of the day after the whole incident with Fíli, Kíli and Bofur, Toony and Ali made sure to keep their distance on the continuation of the journey without so much as sparing them a glance. And while the three dwarfs, as well as their kinsmen were quite curious of the items they found in their belongings, every one of them new to just keep their questions to themselves and let the still fuming women tell them more about themselves in due time.

It wasn't until evening was just about to fall upon them when Thorïn finally stopped the company and they all began to set up for the night, eating their fill of a stew Bombur had prepared before they all began to bed down.

Toony had taken on the form of a red fox, offering Ali her blanket as well so that she could sleep more comfortably through the night and snuggled close to her side so they both could stay warm from chilly breeze.

Though it was rather hard for them to fall asleep considering the snores from some of the Dwarves were louder than jack hammers.

But just when it seemed like they were finally beginning to feel the pull of slumber, it was chased away as soon as they heard a terrible screeching sound in the distance within the darkness. Toony and Ali sat up abruptly, looking over near the cliff side where Bilbo stood with the ponies after sneaking little Myrtle an apple, looking just as concerned about it as he turned around and pointed off into the distance.

"What was that?" he asked.

"...orcs." Kíli told him as another shrill screech rang through the night air.

"_Orcs?_" the hobbit repeated as he hurried back to the group while Thorïn stood on high alert and keeping his sharp eyes out for any sort of movement.

"Throat cutters." Fíli stated. "There'll be dozens of them out there. The Lonelands are crawling with them."

"They strike in the wee hours of the night when everyone's asleep." Kíli added with a grim expression. "Quick and quiet, no screams."

"…Just lots of blood."

Growing pale, Bilbo turned back with a horrified look out over the land, just knowing without a doubt that he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight as Fíli and Kíli then smiled and started to chuckle at effectively scaring the poor hobbit.

Ali gave a distasteful frown that they would treat something so terrible so lightly in order to scare Bilbo. She had half a mind to scold them for it, but there someone else who didn't appreciate their poor humor and beat her to it.

"You think that's funny?" came Thorïns' voice, low and forceful with a hint of anger in it as he had gotten to his feet and fixed his nephews with a cool glare. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

"...We didn't mean anything by it." Kíli said, the expression on his face falling as he knew that he messed up.

"No...you didn't." their leader told them in a soft growl as turned and briskly walked away. "You know nothing of the world!"

Ali and Toony shared concerned looks with each other as Kíli hung his head. Even though they were still mad at him for what happened back at the river, they didn't like seeing him so down cast for teasing.

Misguided teasing, but still...

"Don't mind him laddie." Came Balin's voice as the elder dwarf stepped up to them with a reassuring smile. " Thorïn has more cause than most to hate orcs..."

Ali and Toony remembered the story all too well as Balin began retelling the tale of how king Thrór, Thorïns' grandfather, sought to reclaim the ancient dwarven kingdom of Moria after the lonely mountain was stolen from them by Smaug.

Only to be thrust into war as it was overrun by orcs, legions of them that were all led by a pale orc, the most vicious and vile of his kind...Azog the Defiler. How the despicable creature had sworn to wipe out all in the line of Durín and first enacted that heinous promise by beheading the king...

Thorïns' father, Thráin was there to witness it and was driven mad by his grief, not one of them knew what became of his father as they lost sight of him after Thrór's murder, but Thorïn bravely led the fight to seek vengeance for his grandfather. They fought each other long and hard, and just as it seemed Thorïn would join his grandfather in the afterlife when he lost his shield, that was when he took a broken oak branched and saved himself, earning his namesake and giving himself a chance to take Azog's arm from him.

Ali looked back to Thorïn, her heart breaking as he silently stared off into the night. They won the battle that day, but they had lost so much that the victory was a bitter one as Thorïn and the few in the company were the only ones who were still alive to remember it.

As Balin continued to go on with the tale, Ali stood to her feet and walked over to him. She paused a bit, her heart beating a hundred miles an hour

"Lord Thorïn," she began, her words catching in her throat a bit as he turned his head slightly to show that he was listening.

"I...I really can't imagine it, what you must have gone through all that time ago..." She began, nervously picking at her nails. "But I hope that you can take comfort in the fact that I will stand by you…we _all_ will."

"And we will do our very best to help you on this quest, _Je vous promets._"

At that, he fully turned around, looking upon her with that intense expression before his gaze moved over every face on his kinsmen and friends, who all looked upon him with such determination and respect. After a few moments, his sharp features softened, and he gave Ali the barest hint of a thankful smile which nearly made her let out a dreamy sigh.

She finally got him to smile!

"And the pale orc?" Bilbo suddenly asked, making Thorïn loose that smile as his all too familiar stoic expression returned. "What happened to him?"

"He slunk back into the hole whence he came." Thorïn answered, his eyes seeming to burn with quiet fury as he walked past Ali and made his way back to his spot to rest. "That filth died of his wounds long ago."

But as he rejoined the group, Ali stayed put her lips pursed and her hands balled into tight fists. She couldn't see anything from withing the blackness of the night, but she could still feel their beady eyes upon her and the company...watching them with that killing intent that made her want to stay up and wish that they would come so she could send them screaming down to hell with her powers!

"I know you're out there..." she said, keeping her voice low as a look of pure hatred appeared on her features. "_Vous des créa tures damnés._"

Clenching her fists tighter, she didn't even care as a small amount of flames appeared about her knuckles. All she cared about was giving the foul beasts a silent promise that she would never let them hurt Thorïn or his company!

"Ali..." came a soft voice as a hand gently lay on her shoulder before she turned to see Toony, a concerned light in her gray, blue-green eyes as she knew what Ali was thinking.

"Come on, let's get to sleep." the fox eared woman told her, urging her along. "Tomorrow, we'll start practicing, but we won't be any help to them if we're not well rested."

"I know, you're right sis..." Ali said, letting Toony guide her back to their rest spot as the other Dwarves began to bed back down themselves before she sent one last glare over her shoulder. "Let's rest."

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_The Next Day_

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"Okay, let's try this again, you ready Ali?" Toony asked from perch in her sisters' hands.

After another full day of traveling, they finally came to a stop at a small farm and once again, Toony had transformed herself into a pigeon to try and get the hang of flying with help from her sister as Thorïn began instructing the company to make preparations for the night while Gandalf went to look through the ruins of a farmhouse that was broken down and gutted.

Toony and Ali recognized the place instantly, there were coming up on the part in the story where the trolls would be showing up soon, but they didn't have to worry about them for a good while more and tried to practice with their powers again while they could.

Toony tried doing this when they stopped for a quick rest earlier that day but failed miserably. Hopefully, it would end up differently this time.

"Ready when you are, Toony!" Ali told her as she got ready to run.

On the count of three, the French woman then took off as fast as she could, making sure that she didn't trip over any hidden logs or gopher holes as she held Toony high above her head.

"Alrighty! I can do this!" Toony said, leaning forward against the wind from Ali running as she spread her wings up and began to flap them up and down. " Flap faster, faster, faster aaaand now!"

Upon the command, Ali tossed Toony up as high as she could, stumbling a little before she managed to regain her footing and watched Toony intently; crossing her fingers that she would be able to do it this time.

And to her joy, her friend was actually staying in the air all by herself!

" I got it! I'm flying!" Toony cried happily, but then something happened, and she started to descend from the air. "Nope, I _don't_ got it!"

"Toony?" Ali called out in concern as her friend haphazardly began to flap her wings and started losing altitude at a very fast pace.

"Mayday! Mayday! I'm going down!" All of a sudden, she accidentally shifted back into her human form in midair and promptly fell flat on her face with a loud "_Oof!_"

"Toony!" Ali cried as she raced over to her redheaded friend just as she picked herself up and began wiping at the dirt that got all over her face and blouse. "_Tu es blessé?_ Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" the fox eared woman just as a flock of little birds suddenly flew up from the grasses because of the commotion. Making Toony feel totally jealous at how effortless they made flying seem.

"Screw you birds for making it look so easy!" Toony yelled after them and shaking a fist that made Ali let out a laugh as well as some of the dwarves who witnessed the whole thing.

"Gandalf? Where are you going?" came Bilbos concerned voice as they looked over to see Gandalf practically stomping towards his horse.

"To seek the company of the only one around here who's got any sense!" came a frustrated reply from the wizard.

"And who's that?" Bilbo asked.

"_Myself _Mr. Baggins!" Gandalf answered angrily. "I've had enough of Dwarves for one day!"

"Come on Bombur, we're hungry." Thorïn said, appearing to be unfazed by the wizard leaving as he got on his horse and galloped away into the distance. But from his rigid stance, everyone could tell that he was less than pleased as well.

"Well, I guess it's your turn now, sis." Toony said as she got up and dusted the front of her dress off before they both went back to the dwarves while they bustled around to get ready for the night.

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_Later That Evening…_

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It had been a while since Gandalf stormed off after the quarrel he had with Thorïn, night had fallen and it was quiet among the company save for Bombur clanking pots and pans as he cooked for everyone while the rest talked and occasionally laughed as they took bets on whether or not their wizard would return to them.

Bilbo seemed to be the only one worried on whether Gandalf would come back as he kept a watchful eye out for him, but already it was late into the evening and there was still no sign of him.

Toony and Ali weren't worried as they already knew that he would return while they silently sat closer to the fire together as Ali practiced with her powers. Toony was still bummed out from not being able to fly earlier that day, so her thoughts were mainly focused on what she could do different tomorrow. Though it was fun watching Ali work, making their campfire bigger and smaller, and pulling out some flames and manipulating them to look like flowers or butterflies...nothing too big just yet.

But Ali on the other hand, couldn't help but let her thoughts wander back the fight as she soon stopped her practice and looked over her shoulder to Thorïn where he sat with Balin, away from everyone else while and sharpening the blades of their own weapons.

Thorïn still seemed to be a bit bitter and upset over what Gandalf had suggested them to do before he left them. And while she could understand his reluctance, he _had_ to know that it was the wiser choice to seek help from Elrond.

Maybe it would help him reconsider if she gave him the softer, more gentle push in the right direction that only a lady could manage?

As she made up her mind, she shared a quick look with Toony, who seemed to sense exactly what she intended to do, she began to furiously shake her head and waved her arms while mouthing 'no' over and over…but she could only slap a palm to her face when Ali ignored her, stood up and walked over to the heir of Erebor.

Ali's heart was racing with each step she took, and it almost skipped a beat when Thorïn looked up and silently regarded her advance. He remained ever stoic, and though she knew that he didn't exactly welcome her and her sister to the company at first, she steeled her courage and hoped that he would reconsider going to Elrond in Rivendale after both she and Gandalf gave him the same advice...

"You know, Gandalf was right, lord Thorïn..." She began softly. "Elrond is not the worst Elf of all, _en toute honnêteté_, he could be a big help with-"

"It is better that you do not propose anything, especially when you haven't _any_ insight to the true nature of the ones you are attempting to support." The heir of Erebor interrupted in a rather cold tone, those stormy blue eyes almost piercing through her.

...If there was one thing Ali hated, it was being interrupted when she was trying to speak about something important. Not only that, she hated being shot down before she even had the chance to plead her case.

But, reminding herself that she knew this would be difficult considering the history between the Dwarves and the elves, she took in a long, deep breath through her nose and tried again.

"And what makes you think I don't know anything about elves? I've heard stories, I might even surprise you." She said, keeping her voice even and calm. "I know the stories of Elrond, and of Thranduil and his son Legolas, I also know of the lady Galadriel-"

"You misunderstand me..." The dwarf sighed as he massaged the bridge of his nose with his two fingers as though he were getting a head ache. "No matter how wise one may be, it does not mean that they always give wise advice. And in your case, 'stories' are not enough to give you the right to persuade me differently."

"But, it is not lost to me that you are new to these lands and ignorant of our history with elves." He added. "So just this once, I shall overlook your arrogance and we will speak of it no more."

Ignorant?! _Arrogance?!_ Ali's mouth dropped open at his words as an indignant gasp escaped her. But her stupefied demeanor at Thorïns' callous and dismissive remarks didn't last long as she grit her teeth together in a scowl while flames suddenly appeared about her shoulder, licking at her cloths and skin yet never burning her.

"Oh dear..." Bofur commented, his voice barely above a whisper as he, Toony and the rest of the dwarves watched with uncomfortable dread as sparks of electricity seem to ignite between Thorïn and Ali.

So much for trying to be soft, gentle and lady like...

"What's your problem?!" Ali demanded angrily, almost yelling as the hold on her patience was rapidly deteriorating. "_Pour l'amour de Dieu_, I'm just trying to help!"

"If you truly wish to help, then it would be in our best interest for you to better control your gift of fire offered by that magic ring rather than speak of things you don't understand!" Thorïn said, never losing face as he stood up to his full height. Which did very little to intimidate the woman before him as he was half her size.

In reality, his frustratingly calm stance only made her even more furious as it seemed that he saw her as a know-nothing little girl who only wanted to see the elves she had heard about in tales. And she was utterly sick of his unbearably blunt and prideful attitude!

"_Bien_, you know what? whatever you say, Mr. High and Mighty _'Super Dwarf'!_" she said in a heated, sarcastic tone as more, even bigger flames began to appear along her body. "You just stay stuck in your blindness with that bull head attitude, and _I'll_ be sure to remember to give advice and be nice to someone who actually deserves it!"

"_Bon sang!_" The French woman suddenly added with a yell and a frustrated stomp of her foot when Thorïn didn't seem even the least bit phased by what she said. "_Toi et ta stupide fierté!_"

Thorïn still hadn't said a word, but his eyes narrowed dangerously at her angry words. He didn't understand what she had said to him, but he knew that it could have very well been an insult. And all Ali could do was let out was a growl of anger with and a look that said she wanted to wring his neck as she and the infuriating dwarf never broke their intense, rage filled staring contest.

After that, Toony felt that she had to step in, not because she was scared that Thorïn would try and get physical with Ali, but because she was worried that her sister might very well turn the band of 14 into the band of 13...

"Whoa, whoa, _whoa!_ Calm down, guys, just take it easy!" She started, hurrying over to them with a nervous laugh and waving her hands in a calming, peaceful manner. "Now come on, is there really a need for all this? It's been a long day for all of us.

"We're hungry, we're tired, so why don't we all sit down around the fire, eat some of the food Bombur has prepared, and just try to rela-"

"_NO!_" Both Ali and Thorïn yelled out in unison, making Toony let out a short _'eep!'_ in surprise from the force.

Afterwards, the two of them shared one last scalding look before they whipped around and stormed off in separate directions. Ali to separate herself from the group while muttering a stream of curses in her native language and Thorin to find a place to smoke his pipe alone in order to calm down.

Leaving Toony to stand there awkwardly and let out a pitiful, puppy like whine from being yelled at in such a way when she was only trying to keep the peace.

"Don't take the bite of their quarrel to heart, lass." Balin said as he continued to sharpen a dagger of his. "They shall get over it later."

That may have been true, but it didn't make it sting any less. And after a moment of standing there, she too started to walk off towards the trees where the equine members of their party were tied. Maybe the quiet company of the ponies would make her feel better.

"Where are ya off to, lass?" Óin asked. "Do you not want ta eat?"

"I'm not hungry..." Toony as she continued on her way.

"What do ya mean? Didn't ya just say that you were before?" Nori asked.

"Oh come now, my lady, come back and have a bite food with us." Bofur added.

But instead of going back to them, Toony just whirled around, her ears flat, tail bristled and her back arching slightly as she let out a loud and terrifying cat-like hiss. Even the pupils of her eyes turned into thin slits that actually startled the dwarves a bit. And feeling that she had gotten her point across and that no one else would try and stop her, Toony stomped away.

"...Remind me never ta make that one mad." Dwalin stated after a few moments of silence after the fox eared woman was gone. But even as he said that, he was also rather impressed by at this second intimidating display of aggression she performed that day.

"Aye, _either_ of 'em fer that matter!" Glóin added.

By the time the dwarves returned their focus to their dinner, Toony to finally reach the ponies and Mia, and thankfully, Fíli and Kíli both seemed to be off somewhere doing whatever. But instead of feeling better, she only felt worse when she remembered that she couldn't even so much as pet the ponies to let off some steam because of her horse allergy.

And deciding that it really wouldn't be worth it to spend over thirty minutes with itchy, red palms that would pulse with a painful throb, she plopped down on a fallen tree trunk with a growly sigh. Her back to the ponies and her elbows digging into her thighs as she rested her head heavily on her hands.

"Seriously?! All I wanted was to get them to stop arguing and then they go and yell at me?! It's not my fault they're both so stubborn!" She grumbled. "_Pssh_, well fine! I had hoped that they would hit it off better than this, knowing how Ali feels about him, but you won't see _me_ stepping in to stop them from going at each other's throats next time!"

Then she paused as she realized what she was doing and threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Oh great! They got me so mad, I'm talking to mysel-" But before she could finish her rant, her heart leaped in her throat when a huge, foul smelling hand that almost covered her whole face pressed roughly against her mouth pulled her back against a large body.

"Looky here, Tom, what'cha suppose this is?" came an all too familiar voice that made Toony's blood run cold as she looked up to see the ugly face of one of the three trolls that lived in this area.

_Stupid!_ she'd gotten so upset, she forgot all about them! Toony tried to scream, but her cries were muffled, and she wasn't at all strong enough to get free and yell for help.

"Don't much care what it is 'nless we can eat it, Bill!" the bigger troll grumbled as he began untie one of the ponies.

"But lookit them ears, and that tail..." Bill, the one that held her commented, and she shuddered as he used his free hand to roughly pet her tail and pull out a few hairs at the tip.

"_Oooo_, they's fox parts, so soft 'n pretty..." he said, with an excited, almost innocent air, like a child who found a new pet. "I wanna keep 'er!"

_Keep her?!_ Toony tried again to get away, clawing at his rough skin with her nails, but he only let out a laugh as it just tickled him slightly.

"Will you stop messin' 'round with it?!" his brother impatiently said, pushing a tree down until it roots ripped up from the dirt and grabbing two ponies that Toony recognized as Bungo and Dasiy, Bifur and Oris' ponies, before holding one out towards his younger brother. "We 'ave ta git these ponies back ta Burt and cooked up by dawn and it'd go faster if ya pitched in!"

"But I don't like horse meat..." Bill commented in disappointment.

Though after a warning growl from the other troll, he still took one of the ponies under his arm while he held Toony with the other, making sure to keep her mouth covered as she was carried off into the darkness of the woods…

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**Oh yeah, the trolls have appeared, now things will start getting more interesting XD**

**Just 3 more chapters left to fix up!**

**~French Translations~**

**_Je vous promet=_I promise you**

**_Vous des créa tures damnés!=_You d***ed creatures!**

**_Tu es blessé?=_Are you hurt?**

**_en toute honnêteté=_in all honesty**

**_Pour l'amour de Dieu=_For God's sake**

**_Bien=_Ok**

**_Bon sang!= _D*** it!**

**_Toi et ta stupide fierté!=_You and your stupid pride!**

**Thank you so very much for reading guys!**


	9. Hold Out Until Dawn

**Whoops, got a little behind sprucing up the chapters, been a little preoccupied with getting ready for the holidays. XD XD XD**

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_Chapter 9: Hold Out until Dawn_

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Ali let out a growl as she kicked another rock, pretending that it was the head a certain dwarf lord as she was still steaming after their fight. Literally as small bursts of flame would appear here and there along her arms and shoulders while she paced around in her own little area a good distance away from the company.

The dwarfs all seemed worried, and maybe a little scared, to invade her space, but Bilbo's concern for her was greater than his nervousness as he came down to ask how she was doing; which she greatly appreciated from the sweet and considerate little hobbit before he was called away by Bofur.

And once he was gone to see what the hat wearing dwarf needed of him, the woman took in a deep breath and finally sat down on a large rock, both her feet and her head hurting as she began to calm down and think about what happened...

She really hadn't meant to get so angry, but Thorïn was just so...so infuriating! He was stubborn, and bull headed and once he got an idea in his head, almost nothing would persuade him to do otherwise!

...Admittedly, those were all things about him that she also found attractive about him, along with how loyal and brave and strong he was, but it wasn't a good thing to be so stuck in the past that he would forsake much needed aid and advice from others!

Ali let out a long sigh...she didn't want to have to apologize because she knew that Thorin was acting a bit too much like a child when it came to elves...but she could also understand his feelings too. How could she expect him to just let go of all that anger when he lost so much to Smaug...when he lost so much at the battle of Moria and the elves never once came to help them?

"Everyone!" came a loud yell that made Ali look back to see that Fíli and Kíli were sprinting back to camp, both with worried expressions on their faces

"We got trouble!" Kíli stated urgently as his kinsmen and Ali began gathering around them. "There are trolls nearby, three of them, and they've taken some of our ponies!"

"We followed their trail to their camp, and Bilbo stayed behind to try and get them free" Fíli added. "But we need to hurry back to help him!"

"Grab your weapons!" Thorïn ordered in that loud, powerful voice as he drew his own sword while the others swarmed around the camp to get their gear and prepare for a fight.

"Hold on, we have to find Toony first!" Ali started as she looked around to find her sister. "She'll want to help too!"

At that, Fíli and Kíli shared uncomfortable glances with each other that didn't go unnoticed by Ali as she stepped toward them.

"What's wrong?" she asked in worry. "_Dis-moi_, what's the matter?"

"My lady, that's one of the reasons we came to get everyone." Fíli explained. "We were going to stay behind and watch Bilbo as we thought that he could free the ponies faster and quieter than we could...but that was before..."

Ali questioned, a bad feeling appearing in the pit of her stomach.

"Sometime before we first noticed that we had ponies missing, lady Toony was captured by the trolls." Kíli told her "She's there too."

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_Meanwhile, at the Troll Camp…_

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"GET YOU'RE HANDS OFF OF ME!" Toony screeched for what felt like the hundredth time as she struggled to free herself from the troll that captured her.

She didn't want to change into anything too small for fear that he would end up crushing her, so she settled for bigger animals that could bite, peck and kick. She shifted into a cow, a moose, a horse, even a large boa constrictor at some point.

But Willim, or Bill as he preferred, held fast, and for a dimwitted troll, he was doing a _very_ good job in changing his grip and hold on her with every form she took.

"Would you git that bloody thing quiet already?!" Tom yelled in annoyance as he arrived from a second trip with Myrtle and Minty under his arms and placed them in the pen along with Bungo and Daisy.

"Well _you_ take 'er if ya think it's so bloomin' easy!" Bill snapped back as he made sure to keep a good distance from the fire. If he knocked over the broth Bert had been working on all night, he'd never hear the end of it.

But thankfully, he didn't have to do this little dance much longer as Toony finally had to stop, becoming too wore out to fight anymore and she had no choice but to just hang there in his grip as she struggled to catch her breath.

"There now, that's more like it." Bill said, a little out of breath himself as he relaxed as he adjusted her to lay in the crook of his arm on her front before he walked over to his spot between his troll brother and sat down, the young woman too exhausted to even so much as tell him to stop as began to stroke her hair and along her back as though she were a cat sitting on his lap. "Quite a spirited lit'le thing, she is, but we'll have 'er good 'n tame soon enough."

"Findin' me such a wonderful pet, this must be me lucky day!"

Toony grimaced when he suddenly started playing with her tail, if she wasn't so tired, she would have turned into a bear and clawed his face for touching her like this!

A soft snap of a twig suddenly caught her ear, and looking over, she saw that it was Bilbo sneaking across the way behind the three trolls. He met her eyes for a moment, placing his fingers to his lips before he started back on his mission to try and free the four spooked ponies the trolls had abducted.

That meant that help wasn't too far behind, maybe she could so something to further distract them. Playing the part of the good pet might do the trick, she had a feeling that Bill and Bert won't be all that hard to win over, but Tom might be a little more difficult...

"And ya see all these animals she can turn inta?" Bill added with excitement in his voice. "Maybe there's a male one out there we can find and breed 'er with. Then their youngin'll turn inta anything we'll want fer supper!"

A soon as those words left his lips, the plan to distract them was totally abandoned and a rush of shock and anger gave Toony a renewed vigor. _Breed her?!_

Oh. Hell. _No!_

Turing into a lithe red cougar, she surprised Bill and his brothers so much that they didn't know what to do at first, which gave Toony ample time to deliver a good, hard chomp to Bill's forearm.

"_AAAAHHH!_" the youngest troll screeched in pain as her long, razor sharp fangs sunk deep into his thick rough flesh and wrapped her paws around his arm to keep a hold when he leapt to his feet. "She's bitin' me! Git 'er off!"

"_Oi!_ Watch the pot!" Bert yelled as he almost knocked it over.

When the scuffle began, Bilbo so desperately wanted to rush to Toony's aid, but the trolls were all so big. If he was having such a tough time just trying to get the blasted ropes on the pen that had their ponies open, then what could someone as small as him do to help her?

All he could do was hunker down at the gate of the pen and hope that none of the trolls spotted him there and hope that Toony would be alright.

"Easy now lad, just hold it still!" Tom told him as he then stepped forward, balling up one of his huge hands into a fist before he brought it up and swung it down, delivering a forceful _'THWACK!'_ to the back of Toony's head.

Bilbo covered his mouth to stifle a horrified gasp at the pretty brutal strike while Toony, knocked senseless, released Bill and dropped to the ground in a daze.

She could only let out a mewl of pain while her vision danced as she slowly shifted back into her human form. She kept telling herself to fight it, to get back up and run or to do _something _other than lay there like a sitting duck...but the darkness soon overcame her and she passed out in a cold faint.

Over in the bushes, the moment Toony went limp after Tom had struck her, all the dwarfs felt the burn of anger run through them. But none more so that Ali who was ready to leap into action right then and there as an enraged growl escaped her and flames appeared along her shoulders.

"Wait!" Thorïn hissed, grabbing her wrist tightly and pulling her back. "Let the halfling free the ponies first."

"He hit her! _Laisse moi partir!_ " Ali snapped, trying to shrug his hand off. She was still angry at him for their fight earlier, and it wasn't helping her mood at all stopping her like this as she watched Tom grab a sack and toss Toony inside before tying it and slinging it up on the high branch of a tree.

"Yes, he did, and he is well over four times our size with two others just like him!" Thorïn told her. "Just wait until we have a chance, until they are distracted, and then we attack."

"_Aah!_ Blimey!" Came the scream from the youngest troll making them all look over to see Bill holding a stunned, wide eyed Bilbo in his hand with nasty, dripping streams of snot all over him. "Bert, _Bert!_ Look what's come outta me hooter!"

"Well, so much for our burglar freeing the ponies..." Nori stated with a roll of his eyes.

Ali, Thorin and every dwarf there watched with worry as the little hobbit was tossed to the ground, fear growing on his face as the trolls talked amongst themselves and wondered if they could eat him or if there were more just like him so they could make a pie.

Bilbo was very light and quick on his feet when they tried to catch him, and for a while he gave a pretty good chase. But his terror made Bilbo a bit clumsy, and it swiftly got him grabbed by the legs and hung upside down as the three trolls leered at him with curiosity and hunger.

"Are there anymore of you lit'le fellas hidin' where you shouldn't?" Tom questioned with his knife trained on him.

"No!" Bilbo squeaked out, his eyes darting all around for some means of escape.

"He's lying!" Bill sneered.

"No I'm not!" the little hobbit insisted, never wishing so badly that he had just stayed in Bag End.

"Hold his toes over the fire!" Bill told Tom with malicious glee. "Make him squeal!"

At that, there was one in the company who could no longer stand by as he charged from the woods, delivering two vicious slashes to Bill's left leg. Sending the troll to the ground with a howl of pain as the youngest of the line of Durin stared the other two down.

"Drop him!" Kíli yelled loudly in a commanding tone.

"You wot?" Tom demanded, sizing up this solitary dwarf.

"I said..." Kíli began, swishing his blade once in his hand before he took a fighting stance, "_drop him!_"

Tom sneered, and instead of just setting Bilbo down, he hurled the poor hobbit across the way at Kíli and sent them both to the ground in a heap. But before the trolls could even think of moving, twelve more dwarfs lead by Thorïn Oakensheild as they charged in and began to attack the trolls.

Ali stayed behind a bit as she wondered what she could do herself, she wanted to get Toony down as soon as possible, if only to see if she was okay. But she had no weapon on her to defend herself if one of the trolls decided to go after her.

Ali then looked down to the fire that burned under the cauldron that belonged to the three hulking creatures. And at first, she thought of taking it all and making it bigger with her own fire to use against the trolls, but the very image of her trying to control that much brought fear into her heart.

What if she lost control? What if she accidentally set fire to the forest like she did Bilbo's rug? What if she hurt Thorin and the others?

No, there were too many 'what if's', she would need to do something smaller!

So taking a deep, calming breath, Ali rushed out to stand by the campfire and began to wave her arms, taking a bit of the flame until she had a small ring of fire going and stretched it out a bit before she glared over the trolls. They were still engrossed in their battle that they paid no attention to the young woman wielding a magical ring of fire before she slung it their way, making it swirl around near their faces as it made them cry out from getting blinded by this strange attack.

It was a good thing that the dwarfs were so much smaller than they were, otherwise, this would have been way more difficult to do.

"I can't see!" Burt yelled at the relentless ring of flame that seemed to follow him everywhere.

"Hot! It's hot!" Bill cried as he tried to shield his face from the heat of the fire.

The dwarfs actually paused in their fight as they watched in amazement at what Ali was doing, but they soon went back to battle with this effective new aid providing them cover.

Ali, as she kept the ring of fire swirling before their faces, quickly walked across the way, avoiding the squabbling bodies of the dwarfs as they continued to attack their foes until she finally made it to the tree that her friend was hanging in.

"Toony!" she cried. "Toony can you hear me? Are you alright?!"

"Mmm...my head.." Came her sister groaning voice from within the sack.

"_Donne moi une minute_, I'll get you down!" Ali assured her as she looked to the rope tied at the truck that was keeping her sister up in the air over the branch. And while she still kept the trolls distracted with her attack, she placed a finger on the taught middle of the rope and began to make a slow burn through it.

Her plan was to grab it and slowly lower Toony down, but as it began to get thinner, it suddenly snapped from Toony's weight and she came falling down to the ground with a loud _'OOF!'_ Making Ali gasp and clap her hands to her mouth in shock while the ring of fire she had going was extinguished because of it.

"_Oooh_ that did not feel good..." Toony whimpered from inside the bag.

"Toony, are you alright?!" Ali cried as she hastily began to work at the knot of the sack. "I didn't mean to drop you like that!"

"Ali?" Toony asked, as if he finally realized who was talking to her before she heard the sounds of yells and steel of battle. "What's going on? Are we fighting?!"

Toony' head finally popped out of the sack, her curly red hair mussed and sticking out every which way from the bag as she and Ali watched in awe at the battle going on right before them. After Ali's fire died out, the trolls went back to attacking the dwarves while they relentless stabbed and clubbed at them with their weapons.

Watching all these men taking on creatures that towered over them with such vigor and courage, all those times watching this scene in the movie was nothing compared to actually witnessing in real life. But as impressive as it was, they still needed a hand.

Ali could try and pull up a ring of fire like before to give them more cover, but they needed a little more power to through into the mix...

"That's it!" She exclaimed, turning to her friend. "Toony, _changez en quelque chose de grand!_"

But Toony only blinked a few times as she stared at Ali in silence for a few moments.

"…You know I'm just a dumb American, right sis?" the fox eared woman finally asked, making Ali slap a palm to her face.

"_Big!_" Ali told her. "Turn into an animal big and strong enough to give the trolls a hard time!"

Toony nodded in affirmation, but before she did anything, she looked to the trolls as they were still engrossed in their fight with the thirteen dwarfs.

"Who hit me earlier?" Toony suddenly asked.

"Um, Tom I think," Ali said, a little confused as to way she was asking. "The meaner one that carried Myrtle and Minty back to the camp in the movie."

"Oh this is gonna be good! " the fox tailed woman stated with an evil grin as she suddenly began to change, her body growing and shifting until Ali found that there was a huge, red rhino standing before her.

"_Ouah…_" Ali stated at Toony's impressive size.

A loud cry caught Toony attention before she tried to look for Tom, and she saw Bill going after Ori after the young dwarf had shot him in the eye with a sling shot. She might as well test out her strength and teach her actual kidnapper a lesson first.

She let out blast of air from her nostrils and swayed her long, sharp horn side to side before she locked onto her target and charged. And right at the moment Thorïn had rescued Ori from Bill's grip, she collided into him with a force that sent him flying until he ate the dirt several feet away.

Too dazed to even wonder what in the world had happened.

"Woo yeah!_ That_ was awesome!" Toony shouted, feeling positively amped. And among the mass of fighting figures, she finally spotted her wanted target across the way with his back to her.

Now that Tom was in her sights, Toony pawed the ground and charged once again with a loud bellow. Feeling as powerful and as fast as a freight train as she closed in on him with the intention of hitting him even harder than he had hit her!

But when he turned around, Toony's eyes widened and she skidded to a halt, kicking up a cloud of dust and stopping a mere inches from the smirking troll before Bert came to join him as the Ali, the dwarfs and herself all saw what they were holding..

"Bilbo!" Kili cried.

"Lay down your arms!" Tom demanded after he had their undivided attention. "Or we'll rip his off!"

Bilbo stared at them all with wide, frightened eyes as each of his limbs were clenched in vice like grips. He didn't know much about trolls, but he knew for a fact that they were serious about ripping him apart if the dwarfs didn't follow their orders...

A lifetime seemed to go by in this tense standoff, but after a few moments, Thorïn was the first to throw down his sword while his kinsmen begrudgingly followed after him...

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_Later…_

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It didn't take the trolls long to round them all up and, like they did in the movie, put more than half of the company up on a rotisserie to slow roast over the camp fire while the others were stuck in sacks and piled up on top of each other off to the side.

They didn't have enough for Ali and Toony, but they did have plenty of extra rope. So after they roughly bound their wrists behind them, they had the sit down back to back at the tree beside the dwarfs on the ground and tied them both together before they went to work in cooking their companions.

They all struggled to get free, of course, but it just proved to be a useless endeavor.

"Ali, can't you do something about these ropes?" Toony finally whispered to her sister while the trolls where busy talking amongst themselves on how they should prepare the dwarfs. "Maybe you can burn through the ones around my wrists and I can do something from there!"

Ali felt her heart almost stop at Toony's suggestion...burn the ropes around her wrists? When she couldn't even see what she was doing?

"B...but Gandalf will be here soon," Ali stated, thankful that she didn't have to face her sister like this. "Can't we just...hold it out? Bilbo will see to it that none of us are eaten, he's a very quick thinker, _rappelez-vous?_"

"That doesn't mean we should just give up!" Toony insisted as she tried to push her wrists closer to Ali's fingers. "Now come on, we need to keep trying and-"

"Toony, I'm _scared!_" Ali snapped, more out of worry then in anger because of what Toony was asking her to do before she bowed her head apologetically. "I have enough of a problem just conjuring up small things with these damn powers! If we weren't tied together like this, then _maybe_ I could have managed something, but..."

" _Je suis désolé, Toony,_ but I...I just can't risk hurting you!"

Toony felt bad for her friend, she knew how terrified Ali was of fire, but she had no doubt in her heart that her little sister was capable of more then what even she believed. Though before she could attempt to convince Ali to at least try, her words were caught in her throat when large feet suddenly appeared before them.

"_Oi! _What'r you two whisperin' about?" Bill asked with suspicion, making them instantly quiet down. But the troll didn't leave as he knelt down and he took one large finger and stuck it under her chin to make her look at him while he peered down at her with narrowed eyes. "You're the one that did all that razzle dazzle with our fire, aint'cha?"

"Should we keep her too?" He asked his brothers. "She might come in handy!"

Toony suddenly shifted again, she couldn't do much because of her restraints, so she ended up resembling a werewolf, snarling and snapping her jaws at his hand. And remembering the nasty bite she gave him before, Bill took several steps back with a loud squawk before she managed to get him a second time.

"Sorry ta say, Bill, but I think that new pet of yers may end up bein' more trouble than she's worth." Bert told him. "It'll be less of a headache fer all of us if we just eat 'em both along with this lot too."

"Aww..." Bill in disappointment, looking down at them longingly as he just trudged back to help

his brothers with cooking.

"Well whatever we do, let's do it soon!" Tom snapped irritably. "Dawn ain't far away and I don't fancy bein' turned ta stone!"

"Wait! " came Bilbo's loud cry, making them all looking over from his place as he lay on the ground with his head resting on Balin's stomach, stuffed to the neck in a sack like the other dwarfs who weren't roasting over the fire yet. "You are making a _terrible_ mistake!"

"You can't reason with them they're half-wits!" Dori called out to him.

"Half-wits?" Bofur repeated as the little hobbit got up and hopped along the ground to get closer to the trolls, "What does that make us? "

"I meant with the, uh, with the seasoning." Bilbo said, ignoring his friends warning as he gave the trolls a meek little smile.

" What about the seasoning?" Bert asked slowly, his good eye narrowed dangerously as he had a thought that the strange little thing might be criticizing his way of cooking.

"Well have you smelt them?" the hobbit asked. "You're gonna need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up!"

"Traitor!" Thorïn bellowed as the other dwarfs started yelling at him in outrage.

"What do you know about cooking dwarf?" Tom demanded in annoyance.

"Shut up!" Bert began as he knelt over and stared at Bilbo with that curiosity of a chef. "Let the uh, flurgburburhobbit talk."

"Uh, the secret to cooking dwarf is, um..." Bilbo started, wracking his brain to come up with something, anything, especially when the impatient troll kept telling him to hurry up and make with the secret.

"The secret is...to skin them first." he finally announced.

That caused quite the uproar from his dwarven companions as many of them began to yell that they would have revenge on him for this, while Toony and Ali, who had been sitting there quietly watching the whole exchange, shook their heads, embarrassed for all these thick headed dwarfs who seriously didn't catch on that Bilbo was only stalling for time.

"What a load of rubbish!" Tom stated, even after Bert asked for him to go grab his filleting knife. "I've eaten plenty with their skins on, scarf 'em I say, boots and all!"

"He's right, nothing wrong with a bit 'o raw dwarf!" William announced as he got up from his seat and moved around the fire before he picked up the plumpest dwarf of the bunch. "Nice and crunchy!"

"Bombur!" Ali yelled, unable to stop herself. "_Laisse-le partir!_"

"No, not that one, h-h-he's infected!" Bilbo cried out desperately just as the dwarf was about to scarf down poor Bombur, making all of them snap their attention back to him with wide eyes at what they heard him say.

"You wot?" Tom demanded.

"Yeah, he's got worms in his...tubes. " He was just pulling words out of his hat at this point, but thankfully, it seemed like they believed him as Bill tossed Bombur back with the other with a loud, disgusted _'Ew!'_

"In fact, they all have!" Bilbo continued as he grew more confident in his ruse. "They're _infested _with parasites, it's a terrible business. I wouldn't risk it, I really wouldn't!"

"We don't have parasites! " came Kíli's voice, louder than the roar of the others as they began to protest as well. "_You_ have parasites!"

It was this moment that the young women rolled their eyes along with Bilbo as the dwarfs still hadn't figured it out. After a moment of listening to them yelling at the little hobbit, Ali sent a swift kick to one of Óin's leg at the same time Thorïn jerked his body and hit Kíli in the back of the head.

Making the pile of dwarfs look up at them before they glanced back at Bilbo.

"I've got parasites as big as my _arm!_" Óin announced as the others chimed in along with him saying that they either had the biggest parasites or that they were riddled with the most.

Now they finally understood, and that got the trolls looking nervously to one another.

"Then what about the wenches?" Bert suddenly asked, making Toony and Ali jump a little as he turned his face their way.

"Oh no, no, no, don't let their sweet looks fool you!" Bilbo quickly said quickly. "They're just as infected as the dwarfs are!"

"Because of the red head!" Bofur suddenly added. "She the one who gave us all parasites on account that she turns into so many animals!"

Despite everything, A smirk broke out upon Ali's face because of Bofur's statement, and she just barely managed to hunker over and hold in a laugh while Toony looked a little less amused.

"Alright guys." the fox eared woman said.

"Ay, she's contagious!" Dwalin announced, smirking at her as he was spun around far enough to meet eyes with her. "_Very_ contagious!"

"Alright guys..." Toony growled lowly.

"I hope none of ya held her fer too long!" Glóin stated. "Otherwise, ya might wanna consider a dip in a river."

"_ALRIGHT GUYS!_" Toony roared, effectively shutting them up with giving her more 'help' on not getting eaten with a glare that could have brought upon death. "Thank you very much!"

"What would ya have us do then?" Tom demanded, walking over to stand before the hobbit with his hands on his hips as he glared down at Bilbo "Let 'em all go?"

"Well..." Bilbo began, but the troll never gave him the chance to further

"You think I don't know what you're up to?" the hulking creature demanded, sending a hard poke to his chest. "This lit'le _ferret_, is taking us for fools!"

"Ferret?!" Bilbo repeated indignantly.

"Fools?" Bert asked in confusion.

"The dawn will take you all!" came a loud, powerful voice as a robed figure wielding a staff stepped out upon a large boulder, making Toony and Ali breath out sighs of relief to see that it was Gandalf the Grey, finally come to their rescue.

"Who's that?" Tom asked.

"No idea." Bert answered

"Can we eat him too?" Bill questioned curiously before the old wizard held his staff up high and thrust it down upon his stone perch, a stream of magic cleanly and effectively slicing the thick rock in half until the bright rays of the sun washed over every one of them.

The trolls were surprised at first, but the moment their rough hides were bathed in the brilliant light, they all screamed and writhed around until they finally stilled, no more than common statues made out of solid rock.

When all was still, the silence was ripped through with elated cheers and hoots and hollers from everyone within the camp. And in this moment of joy, Ali looked over to share a look with Thorïn, smiling at him while he slowly returned it. Obviously as happy as everyone else that their wizard had returned to them in the nick of time as he climbed down and hurried across the ground with the intention of freeing Toony and Ali first.

"Are you alright?" he asked, receiving his answer as the two young women launched themselves into his arms as soon as the ropes were cut.

"Now that you're here, we are!" Toony told him.

"_Vous nous avez sauvé!_" Ali added gratefully. "Don't ever leave us like that again!"

Gandalf gave a soft chuckle as he returned their embrace for only a short moment before he pulled back and reminded them that they still had a bundle of dwarfs and a hobbit to free from their current predicaments. After which, Toony went off with the elder man to get the poor dwarfs who were still roasting over the fire down and Ali hurried to free the others from the sacks, starting with Thorïn.

"Hold on, I'll have you out soon!" she promised as she quickly worked at the knot about his neck.

She felt her cheeks grow hot when her knuckle accidentally brushed against his jaw, the coarse hair of his dark beard tickling her skin and the warmth from his body heat making her very aware of how close she was to him.

Ducking her head in a fruitless attempt to hide her no doubt beat red face from him, she stammered out a short apology for stopping like that and finally got the knot untied.

But before she could stand to help the others, Thorïn suddenly caught her wrist, looking at her with those striking blue eyes of his.

"...Thank you." he said, his voice low and soft.

Ali blinked in surprise at the small word of thanks, and whether he was giving it to her for helping him out of the sack, or for her actions in blinding the trolls before they captured Bilbo or if it was even a disguised form of an apology for the fight they had yesterday...either way, it seemed like they were now on better terms for each other.

And she was so grateful for that.

"_De rien._" the young woman told him with a shy, but sincere smile.

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**_Almost done, jut two more chapters left to fix up :D:D:D_**

**_~French Translations~_**

**_Dis-moi=_Tell me**

**_Laisse moi partir!=_Let me go!**

**_Donne moi une minute=_Give me a minute**

**_changez en quelque chose de grand!= _change into something big!**

**_Rappelez-vous?_Remember?**

**_Je suis désolé, Toony,=_I'm sorry, Toony**

**_Ouah=_Wow**

**_Laisse-le partir!=_Let him go!**

**_Vous nous avez sauvé!=_You saved us!**

**_De rien.=_You're welcome**


	10. Hesitation

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me this long to get this chapter up, but I wish you merry (after) Christmas XD I hope your holiday has been wonderful!**

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_Chapter 10: Hesitation_

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After everyone was finally free, they went about the camp and gathered all their weapons and items that the trolls had taken from them before throwing them in sacks. And those who were cut down from the fire immediately started redressing back into their cloths and armor while Toony and Ali gave them privacy by lavishing their little hobbit friend with praise.

"Bilbo, you were amazing!" Ali told him, embracing him tightly in a big, grateful hug. "_Merci beaucoup vous hobbit intelligent peu!__"_

From the way he fidgeted in her arms, it was obvious that Bilbo wasn't used to such a show of affection from someone other than close family. But he also felt very happy, proud even, so he made no move to pull away as he just smiled and let out a small laugh.

"Ah, you're welcome my lady, though, I didn't do all that much..." he told her.

"_Oi,_ what about us?" Fíli demanded. "We helped too!"

"_Oui_, after you almost blew his cover!" Ali replied with an unimpressed expression as she continued to hug Bilbo. "Seriously, how could none of you not tell that he was only trying to by us time?"

"Oh come one Ali, we're all safe, and every one of them was so brave to come the rescue in the first place." Toony said as she gave the dwarves a smile. "Why don't we just agree that we're all happy and grateful not being eaten by a troll?"

Ali only sent their bearded companions one last unimpressed look before she just sighed and gave shrug of her shoulders. They may have been slow to catch on to Bilbos' plan, but Toony was right, they all acted bravely fighting the trolls before their hobbit was caught.

"Everyone, as soon as you're ready, let's look around the area." Thorïn suddenly announced. "Search for a cave these trolls could have used to hide from daylight!"

With nods and grunts of understanding, the dwarves picked up the pace and finished getting ready to move out with their lord's command to find a cave big enough to hold three full grown trolls. It didn't take too long to find it as they caught wind of a smell that got stronger and stronger until they about lost what little dinner they had the night before as they finally found what they were looking for...

"Uh, yeah, I think I'm just gonna stay out here..." Toony stated, gagging as she stood a good ways away with Ali and Bilbo. The two of them agreeing with her as Gandalf led the way down through the mouth of the cave with Thorin, Bofur, Gloin, Nori and Dwalin following behind him.

"Oh, what is that stench?!" they heard Nori demand as his kinsmen visibly cringed and coughed as the putrid smell assaulted their noses.

"It's a troll hoard." came Gandalf's echoed answer. "Be careful what you touch!"

The other dwarves who stayed outside were content to sit and rest until their kinsmen and wizard returned from the cave, with the exception of Bifur as he took to picking through a huge pile of miscellaneous items that sat right before the mouth of the troll hoard. and it wasn't until Gandalf and the others returned outside that he suddenly stood and came over to them with a sword and a bow with a quiver of arrows in his hands.

The two women didn't know exactly what he said thanks to that piece of orc axe in his head which left him only able to speak in the dark language, but they seemed to understand what his intentions were and they gratefully accepted the weapons from him.

"Thank you, Bifur." Toony said as she picked out the bow and arrows from him, pulling back the strand experimentally and Ali the sword as she unsheathed it just a bit to look upon the sharp looking blade.

Ali was a little nervous to be holding a real weapon like this in her hands, but she knew that eventually she would have to use it...especially now since she already knew what was coming soon. Maybe once they were safer, she could ask the dwarves to give her some lessons in how to fight with a sword.

"Something's coming!" Thorïn shouted, putting everyone on high alert

"Stay together!" Gandalf told them as he drew the sword he got from the troll hoard when they suddenly heard a loud crashing from the woods that was rapidly coming closer. "Hurry now, arm yourselves!"

"Thieves! Fire! Murder!" a suddenly voice yelled out before the figure finally slowed and came to a sliding halt, reviling to everyone that it was a scruffy old man dressed in tattered brown robes as he stood upon a sled that was pulled by more than a dozen rabbits.

"Radagast..." Gandalf announced, relief in his voice as he sheathed his weapon and began striding over to the flustered newcomer, though he soon wore an expression of confusion at the new wizards unexpected appearance. "It's Radagast the Brown."

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you, Gandalf!" Radagast said, his tone urgent while the dwarves slowly began to lower their weapons. "Something's wrong, something's _terribly_ wrong!"

"Yes?" Gandalf asked.

But as the brown wizard opened his mouth, he paused...he opened his mouth again, but still he had no explanation to give for the fact of having completely forgotten it.

"Just give me a minuet...Oh!" Radagast finally said as he racked his brain. "I had a thought, and now I've lost it!"

"He so crazy, he's adorable..." Toony whispered to Ali who only laughed a bit before they sat down and watched as Gandalf pulled a stick bug from Radagasts' mouth.

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Several Minutes Later…

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The company wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed as they stood off on their own and watched the two wizard speak with each other in private. Thorïn and the other dwarves were looking a bit restless as they wanted to resume their quest, but Toony and Ali were having a grim conversation of their own.

"Sis, you know what's coming soon…" Ali stated, looking very nervous.

"Yeah." Toony nodded. "We have to be prepared to go all out when they come."

"I...I'm not sure I can do this, use my powers..." Ali told her, if her hair was still long, she would be wringing it. "_J'ai encore si peur._"

"Ali, you are capable of more than you think." The fox eared woman said, moving over to sit by her friend." I know you're scared that you'll hurt someone, but you need to have more faith in yourself!"

"That's easy for you to say, sis..." Ali said with a bitter hint in her voice. "You can control your powers so easily!"

"So? That doesn't mean I'm not scared about using them." Toony retorted. "Gandalf said that with every form I take, there's always the risk that I might lose myself...there's a _reason_ I've stuck with turning into animals that are vegetarian or no bigger than horses, you know."

"What about when you transformed into a tiger at Bilbo's house?" Ali asked.

"I was mad when I did that, and I was only a tiger for, like, five seconds." Toony explained, blushing with embarrassment. "My point is, sis, I'm always waiting for something to change when I decide to turn into a new animal, I'm always reminding myself to be who I am and not to give in to any instincts the form I take might give me."

"It hasn't happened yet, but…I still feel scared every time." Toony added. "But I have to give myself a chance to prove that I can do this, just like _you_ have to give yourself a chance."

Ali only looked to the ground, still not fully convinced, but before she could even think of a reply to give her friend, a low, chilling howl suddenly rang through the air, putting every person that stood in the clearing on high alert.

"Was that a wolf?" Bilbo asked. "Are there wolves out there?"

"Wolves?" Boufur answered, his face set in a look of worry as he held his weapon tightly in his hands. "No, that's not a wolf..."

As the dwarves began to scan around the woods, Ali and Toony gasped as she saw a large creature with dark, spotted fur and dripping jaws full of razor sharp fangs slunk from the rocky hill that sloped over them before it let out a growl, making everyone turn around and look at it before it snarled and ran down to pick off its first victim.

"Dori! _À terre!_" Ali cried, the first to spring into action as she grabbed the dwarf by the arm and when the intent to pull him out of the way. But the giant hyena like animal known as a warg, was too fast and it knocked them both down.

Thankfully, Thorïn was upon it before it could try and bite at either of them as Kíli took up his bow when another warg charged in on them; And lucky for Thorïn, his nephew was a fast draw and excellent shot as he sent the beast down with a single arrow while Dwalin finished it off with a swift blow to the head.

"Warg scouts!" Thorïn stated. "Which means an orc pack is not far behind!"

"Orc pack?! " Bilbo repeated, looking as white as a sheet.

"Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?" Gandalf suddenly asked, looking to Thorïn with his piercing, stormy eyes.

"No one!" The heir of Erebor answered.

"Who did you tell?!" the gray wizard demanded again, his voice louder and more forceful.

"No one, I _swear!_" Thorïn promised insistently.

Gandalf appeared to finally affirm that the dwarf lord was indeed telling the truth, but his worry wasn't quelled as he let out a breath and looked out to the woods, putting everyone on edge to see the usually calm wizard so concerned.

They were in real danger!

"What in Durin's name is going on?!" Thorïn demanded.

"You are being hunted." the gray wizard answered him with a grim expression on his bearded face.

"We have to get to a safe place!" Ali stated firmly. "_Tout de suite!"_

"We can't!" came Ori's fearful statement. "We have no ponies, they bolted!"

"I'll draw them off." Radagast announced, making everyone look over to him.

"These are Gundabad wargs, they will outrun you!" Gandalf told his fellow wizard.

"These are Rhosgobel rabbits!" Radagast retorted with a mischievous grin. "...I'd like to see them try."

At that, Toony and Ali shared glances with each other before they both gave a nod and stepped forward.

"We'll help you!" Ali told the brown wizard as he climbed up on his sled

"I'm afraid you cannot." the brown wizard told them. "I have no room for the three of us, and my rabbits will need to have as less weight as I can manage."

"Oh you don't need to worry about that," Toony assured him, bringing her hand to her necklace which shined with its power before she shifted into her mare form in the blink of an eye. When she so suddenly transformed, Radagasts' eyes widened in awe and surprise as he stepped off his sleigh and came to stand before her.

"The Fey Kelva emerald..." he whispered before he looked to Ali as she stood beside the chestnut mare and quickly took her hand, bringing it up until he could see her ring. the red stone glinting up at him in the sunlight. "And the ruby of Uur-Anor!"

He then trained his concerned gazed on the gray wizard.

"Gandalf, what have you done?" Radagast asked. "Putting sacred jewels in the hands of mortal women...should Saruman find out-"

"And I hope that he will not, least not anytime soon." Gandalf told him, interrupting his warning. "Right now, we have more pressing matters, Radagast."

Radagast still looked unsure about the whole thing with the jewels, but as Ali brought his attention back to her and Toony as she climbed up on her friends back, he relented and put his focus on the more pressing matter of the danger they were in.

"Then just keep running, girl." the brown wizard told Toony as he climbed abord his sled. "And don't stop running!"

And run they did, just as Radagast told them as the three of them separated from the company and moved quickly towards the edge of the forest. They could hear the growls and howling of the wargs get closer and closer until they burst from the tree line with loud whoops and hollers to catch the attention of their hunters.

But as they successfully managed to every one of them away, the orcs quickly found that this new hunt wouldn't be that easy to catch.

Ali and the brown wizard actually seemed to be having fun taunting the orcs and their wargs while Toony and the rabbits were always one step ahead of the snapping jaws, And occasionally, Toony and Radagast would steer themselves to cross paths with each other, making the wargs run right into one another or trip over themselves as they tried to stay on their prey.

And as just Toony began to tire from all the running, the brown wizard soon had every warg and orc following after him while the young women hid themselves behind tall stones to rest.

But it wasn't long after that when a familiar scream of an orc about to meet his end rang through the air, making the wargs stop their chase on the wizard and his rabbits in order to listen before the lead orc yelled and the whole pack started to move back the other way, much to the two young women's concern.

"Toony, they found them!" Ali exclaimed.

"Then let's cut them off!" Toony said as she broke back into a sprint to keep ahead of the pack until it was time, yelling to her sister over the pounding of her hoofs. " Maybe a bit of fire will slow their steeds!"

"No, I can't do that!" the French woman started.

"You _can!_ The jewel choose you protect Thorin and the company, right?" Toony asked. "You can do this, Ali, I _know_ you can, just give yourself a chance!"

Ali bit her bottom lip, she did want to protect Thorin, with all her heart, she truly wanted to help him, her dwarven friends and Bilbo on this quest; And if facing her fear head on was truly the best way she could ensure their safety, they by the heavens above, she would do it!

So, taking in a deep breath, Ali finally gave a relenting nod.

"Then just...try to keep me steady, sis." she said as she closed her eyes and put her hands together as though she were in prayer, the ruby stone on her finger glowing brightly until Ali brought them apart and clapped them back together loudly.

Her hands alit with fire before she started to sway the in circular motions and urging the flames to grow bigger and bigger.

Toony could feel the heat on her back, but she had the upmost faith in Ali's ability and never once took her eyes off the path ahead of her, trying to keep her galloping stride as smooth and even as possible so her friend could concentrate the closer she got the orcs as they closed in on their friends.

By the time they were almost upon the company, the lead orc finally had his pack stop in their tracks as he noticed something coming. And they all looked on in shock to see a horse boldly riding towards them with its female rider pulling with them a tall tornado of fire that magically burned from her hands.

The pack back up several paces, unsure what to do at first before Ali's amber brown eyes opened, and with a loud yell, she thrust an arm forward, setting the ground at their feet a flame.

The wargs and the orcs all let out animalistic screeches and howls of surprise and fear from the heat and the height of the flames that circled all around and blocked them from their hunt while Toony cantered to a halt, she and Ali both out of breath as they looked on at the sight in stunned silence.

"...Told you so." Toony finally said proudly while Ali only gave a bashful smile.

But the moment of victory was soon cut short, the wargs that held riders did nothing without order, but there were two without orcs that leaped through the tall flames seemingly without fear. Toony reared up with a horse like bellow of shock and surprise as one very nearly bit off her nose and sent a powerful kick with her front hooves to its head that sent it to the ground.

Whether she had killed it or just sent it into a daze, she never had the chance to find out as she took off in an all-out run along the treeless plain with the second warg hot on her tail.

The unexpected attack and Toonys' sudden bolt was enough to make Ali loose her concentration and the fiery twister she created to stop the pack died down enough until they could all escape from it and resume the chase. It was hard for Ali to keep a good hold with no saddle or bridle to hold onto, but she managed to stay on Toony's back while her sister frantically tried to come up with a new plan.

"Crap! Crap! _Crap!_ I need something big! Big with teeth and claws!" Toony cried out as she nearly tripped over her own hooves. "A bear? No, that's not fast enough!"

"Uh, sis, I don't mean to rush you, but it's gaining on us..._très rapidement!_" Ali said, gripping Toony's mane in fear as the warg that chased them began to close the distance.

"A lion? No, definitely not strong enough!" Toony panted as all the running began to finally get to her.

"Toony!" Ali cried after the terrifying beast gave a blood curdling howl as it prepared to pounce.

"Wait! I got it!" Toony exclaimed.

She only hoped that it would work...

Ali had to gasp as she felt Toony's body suddenly shift underneath her, her velvety, dappled red pelt grew shaggier and longer, and her shoulders grew broader as the hair along her neck shortened into a stiff, erect mane that ran along the back of her now thick neck.

Her thin horse legs grew larger in size and bulked with muscle, and instead of hooves, she now had four massive paws with long, razor sharp claws in each padded toe.

And lastly, her equine face shortened and grew wider and more cat-like as whiskers popped out from her muzzle and above her brows while two sharp, intimidating fangs stretched down past her bottom jaw.

The warg, having taken no notice or care that it's pray was changing into something different, only watched the figures as they suddenly ducked down in a slight slop with tall moss-covered rocks that hide them from view.

Faster it ran towards the end, hoping to cut them off and end this thrilling chase, but instead of the small rider that was astride a weak looking horse it had been chasing only seconds before, a huge, ferocious sabre toothed tiger came lunging towards it with a heart stopping roar.

The warg didn't even have time to let out a startled yelp as the sabre's jaws clenched upon the hump of its shoulder. And the sheer force of the tackle sent it down hard as though it weighed absolutely nothing left it struggling in a yelping and screaming mass of limbs as it struggled to get away from this strange new creature.

Toony didn't want to kill it, so she was very mindful how much power she put into her jaws as she held it down, but she did want to leave a lasting impression and she roughed it up pretty good by dragging it all around the ground and clawed at its hide before she finally got off of it and let it run off in another direction

Toony let out a blast of air from her nostrils before she looked over her shoulder and gave a catty grin at her sister.

"Man, I didn't even know if this counted, but I am _so_ glad it worked!" Toony stated.

"_Inouï_... " Ali said as she stared down at her friend with wide eyes, hardly believing the form Toony had taken. "Toony, are you going to be okay like this?"

"I think so, I don't think I'm having any trouble with it, but if I start feeling any different then I'll turn back quick!" Toony assured her. "But for now, I think I should be more than a match in power with those wargs!"

"Then let's catch up to Thorïn and the others!" Ali urged. "_Dépêcher!_"

Toony quickly complied to Ali's with as she galloped across the plains, the power she felt in this form making her feel unstoppable until she finally caught said of the orcs as the entire pack had almost completely congregated to the rock that led down to secret the pathway while she could see the figures of the dwarves disappearing into one by one while Thorin and Kíli held back, striking down wargs and orcs to give his kinsmen time to get to safety

"Hold on tight!" Toony shouted, locking on to one warg that had an orc upon its back which had been advancing on the youngest dwarf lord before she ran full speed and knocked him right off his steed with a roar.

the warg, startled by this strange creature, abandoned its rider as it took off and left him to deal with the danger as Toony pinned in to the ground, snarling as she raised a clawed paw to strike him...but she stopped.

"Toony?" Ali asked, but her sister didn't answer as she continue to stare down at the struggling figure she pinned down...

Although she knew that this orc was no better than an animalistic monster that reveled in killing, she just couldn't ignore the fact that this was still was a living being like her. A being that could think, feel fear and pain…

Enemy or not, who was she to just_ take_ his life away from him?

"Toony look out!" a voice yelling made her blink and look over to see Kíli running towards her, but all it took was that second for the orc to take an opportunity to finally grab the curved sword he had and swung it up, sinking its blade into the thick upper arm of this unknown beast atop him.

Deeply it cut into her arm, enough to make Toony let out a yowl of pain and trip over herself from the white-hot burn of the gash when she tried to put distance between them. Ali cried out as she was practically thrown off when Toony fell and watched as her friend shifted back into her true form and crumpled into a ball on the ground.

"Toony!" Ali started, crawling to her and leaning over to get a better look. "Toony, are you alright?"

But the fox eared woman could only answer her with a pain filled choke as she clutched at her bleeding arm until Ali's worried gaze was pulled away by a dark shadow that fell over them. Looking up, she saw that the orc who had hurt her sister standing over them with a cruel and sickening grin on his horrid, ashen face while he raised his sword in the high over his head.

Toony could only stare up at him with wide, fearful eyes, but Ali broke herself out of the spell and reached around to grab the hilt of the sword Bifur had given her.

It seemed like the action had been too late, until the sound of something whistling through the air caught their ears before the orc gave a violent jerk and let out a shrill screech from an arrow that had lodged itself within his back.

Shot by Kíli himself as he still ran towards them while loading up another arrow and shooting the orc in chest nearest his shoulder. And as the orc screamed once again from the second shot, Ali finally freed her sword from its scabbard and stood to her feet with a loud _"Hey!"_ making him turn back around face her.

"_Salaud!_" Ali spat, willing her powers gifted to her by the ring to engulf the blade with flames, making the orcs beady eyes widen in disbelief before she thrust it through his middle with a loud, forceful battle worthy shout.

"Come on!" Came Thorïn's bellow as Ali and Kíli both took Toony by an arm and urged her into a running sprint to the secret passage before they jumped in and slid down to Gandalf and the others as Thorin followed close behind. And once everyone was safe inside, they drew their weapons and prepared to fight whatever would come down through the opening to them.

But the sudden blaring of a horn caught their attention and they looked on in confusion at the clangs of metal and loud shouts could be heard before a figure suddenly came rolling down upon them. Though as it came to a stop, they saw that it was an already dead orc with an arrow sticking out of its neck.

Stooping down, Thorïn pulled out the arrow and examined it, a hateful expression appearing on his face as he realized who it belonged to...

"Elves!" he spat bitterly, throwing the arrow to the ground as he turned to look up at Gandalf who only stood there in silence.

"My lady, you're hurt!" Bilbo suddenly stated in concern as the dwarves looked over to see Toony kneeling on the ground, her right arm completely covered in blood and dripping from the nasty looking slice across her upper arm.

Toony couldn't bring herself to answer as she looked to the ground in shame, even when Gandalf pushed through to inspect her injury and wrap in in a temporary bandage from a handkerchief that Bombur had given him to use.

But while most of the company looked on in worry for their friend, there was one who was just seething in anger as he stalked forward...

"You hesitated!" Thorïn stated in rage. "You had an opportunity to kill that orc, yet you hesitated!"

Toony looked up, opening her mouth a bit to explain, but it was like her voice was trapped and just turned her face back down.

"You could have died, your friend could have died!" Thorïn started, even angrier as Toony didn't speak. "My _nephew_ could have died coming to your rescue! How dare you put their lives in danger like that!"

"Never, in all my years did I ever think to meet someone so weak that they would refuse to dirty their hands with orc blood!"

"_C'est assez!_ Stop yelling at her!" Ali said, finally stepping in after having heard enough and planting herself firmly in front of her friend. "Toony's never even hurt a fly least of all killed before, _neither_ of us have!"

"And you think those filth would show you the same mercy?!" Thorïn demanded. "Whatever land you come from, where you are blessed not to be thrust within heat of battle, you both would do well to remember that you are far from home!"

"Here, it is either kill...or _be_ killed." He then sent a glare down to Toony, his blue eyes still glittering with rage. "And I suggest you keep that in mind the next time we are fighting orc's or you will most assuredly be removed from this company!"

At that, Ali's shoulders alit with flames that burned almost as hot as the anger she felt, her amber eyes clashing with Thorïn's stormy blue ones as she silently dared him to say one more cross word to her friend while he in turn challenged her to question his authority.

"I see a path, but I dunna where it leads!" Dwalin suddenly said, breaking the tense and awkward silence that had fallen upon the group. "Do we follow it or no?"

"Follow it of course!" Boufur told him as he quickly started over and down the passage.

And without another word, Thorïn followed after his kin as the rest followed in suit as Gandalf waited at the opening until the dwarven travelers were all on their way and Bilbo, standing off to the side as he watched the two young women with worry.

"Toony...don't listen to Thorïn, _tu as fait de ton mieux_, it was our first real fight." Ali began gently, turning back to her and placing a comforting hand on Toony's uninjured shoulder. "Well, the trolls were technically our first, but you know what I mean, don't you? It's wrong of him to expect you to just be able to...to take someone's_ life_, even if it belonged to an orc!"

"And yet you were the only one who did what needed to be done..." Toony said in a quiet tone.

"_Hein?_" Ali asked as Toony looked up and gazed at her face for a moment before she shook her head and put on a small, unconvincing smile.

"I'll be okay, Ali." Toony assured as she stood up to her feet. "I just...need some time to think."

Ali pursed her lips, she knew full well that her friend was not alright...but as she heard Gandalf call to them while he and Bilbo began to go through the passage, she knew that they needed to be on their way as well.

So all she could do right now is keep an eye on Toony and make sure that she would get help once they made it down to the house of lord Elrond.

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_Later Through the Passageway…_

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Several minutes passed as they trudged through the narrow path, scooting and sliding as they tried to find the end of it so they wouldn't feel so squished within the towering rock walls as the sun was just barely able to peek through the crevasse and light their way.

But while the dwarves, Bilbo and Gandalf kept up a steady pace, Ali moved slow to make sure that Toony, who was struggling the most, didn't collapse.

"Come one Toony, we're almost there, we're almost to _Rivendell!_" Ali urged her sister when the fox eared woman suddenly stopped and rested heavily against the wall. "Aren't you excited to see it?"

"I'd be more excited if I wasn't losing blood like a runny faucet..." Toony answered with a weak laugh, pushing herself off the stone walk to keep following her friend.

"This was your plan all along!" Came Thorïn's accusing voice before they finally made it out of the narrow passageway and back to the company as they stood next to a water fall as the breathtaking sight of the Valley of Imladris met their eyes. "To seek refuge with our _enemy!_"

"You have no enemies here, Thorïn Oakensheild." Gandalf calmly told him, though his eyes held a great deal of disappointment for the dwarf lord's bitterness. "The only ill will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself!"

But as Thorïn and Gandalf traded words, Ali and Toony couldn't take their eyes off Rivendell...the way the sun shined on the glorious house, the way the waters sparkled as they flowed all around and made it seem even more enchanting then it already was, mere words for the sight they beheld just wouldn't do it any justice.

"Oh sis, it's more beautiful than ever." Ali finally said as her eyes began to mist a little as Toony nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, beau-_ugh!_" She suddenly stumbled a little and would have fallen over if her friend wasn't standing close enough to catch and steady her.

"Gandalf, we need to get her help, _rapidement!_" Ali said to the wizard as she slung Toonys' arm over her shoulders to give her more support for the walk down.

The wizard only nodded, sharing one last gaze with the visibly rigid Thorïn before he began to lead the way down to the house. It was a little difficult for Ali and Toony to keep balance on the rocky path, but they managed and didn't have to worry about any longer once they finally made it to the bridge and walked through the white stone gates.

And even if the dwarves were unhappy to be within an elven home, they still couldn't hide their admiration for the beauty of this place.

"_Mithrandir..._" a voice called, having the party turn to see a tall, thin elf as he seemed to elegantly glide down the steps.

"Ah, Linidr." Gandalf greeted pleasantly as he strode forward and began exchanging words with him in elvish.

"Are ya okay, lassie?" Balin whispered to Toony as she pulled herself off Ali's shoulder to stand on her own now that they were no longer walking around.

"I'm...I'm fine Balin." she assured him even thought she was starting to feel a little nauseous. "Just a little lightheaded."

A horn blaring then caught their attention and the all turned to see figures astride white horses galloping across the bridge towards the house...but when they never once started to slow down, Thorïn shouted to his kinsmen in dwarvish and they began to go on the defensive.

"Close ranks!" Thorïn ordered as Bilbo, Ali and Toony were pulled into the middle of their protective circle while the armored elves began to trot all around them. It seemed a little pointless since the two women were considerably taller than they were, but they appreciated the sentiment nonetheless.

And finally, when the soldiers stilled their horses, an elf with long dark hair and a silver crown upon his brow came to the front.

"Gandalf." he greeted with a fond smile to which the grey wizard returned.

"Lord Elrond." Gandalf announced as the elven lord dismounted his horse and walked over to give him a friendly embrace while Thorïn and his kinsmen watched on in wary silence.

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our borders." Elrond commented, holding up an orc sword before he turned to the thirteen dwarves, two women and hobbit. "Something, or _someone_, has drawn them near."

"Ah, that may have been us." Gandalf told him as the lord of Rivendale met eyes with the dark-haired leader of the company.

"Welcome Thorïn, son of Thráin." Elrond formally announced as he moved to stand before him.

"I do not believe we have met." The heir to Erebor commented.

"You have your grandfathers bearing." Elrond explained. " I knew Thrór when he ruled under the mountain."

"Indeed?" Thorïn asked with a rather disrespectful and rude tone. "He made no mention of you."

The two of them just stared at each other for a few tense moments until Elrond suddenly began speaking in elvish. Toony and Ali already knew what his intention were, but the dwarves did not and they immediately bristled and became eager to pick a fight.

"What is he sayin'?" Glóin growled out. "Does he offer us insult?!"

"No, master Glóin, he's offering you food." Gandalf told him.

At that, they seemed to reel in their anger as they were all feeling hungry after running from orcs; But as soon as they huddled up to whisper amongst themselves, Ali finally had enough of their poor attitude towards the elves of Rivendell.

"_Qu'est-ce que la baise est mal avec vous?!_" She shouted, making every eye fall onto her as she pushed her way out from the middle of the crowd and glared at them.

"_Je ne peux pas le croire! Après qu'ils nous sauvent, offrir de nous donner un abri et de la nourriture, vous continuez à agir comme si elles vont juste nous tuer dans notre sommeil?!_" She continued to yell in her native tongue, making Bilbo and every dwarf stare on at her in confusion as her tone continued to grow in both volume and sharpness. "_Ces braves gens sont nos amis! Et elfes ou non, ils ont sauvé nos vies! Donc, au moins faire semblant d'être un peu reconnaissants!_"

"_Saint putain de merde! Ces hommes!_" She said under her breath as she started towards Elrond and Lindir as they had been standing beside Gandalf, silently watching in equal confusion as well as fascination as this strange woman seemed to mercilessly berate her own companions in a strange language. "_Enfants avec des haches, des épées et des poils du visage! C'est ce qu'ils sont !_"

"_Merci pour tout, Seigneur Elrond._" she said to the elven lord as she pinched her black skirt in her fingers and curtsied as daintily as she could manage given that she still felt like yelling at her mistrustful friends.

Elrond gave a quick glance both to Lindir and Gandalf inquisitively. He hadn't the foggiest idea what she had said to him, but as he watched her bow politely and noted that her tone was gentler when she addressed him, he simply bowed his head in return and offered her to start up with steps to his home.

Which she eagerly accepted after sending one last heated glare to the dwarves before she charged up the steps.

"Did any of you catch that gibberish?" Óin asked, breaking the silence.

"What did she say to us?" Ori questioned Toony curiously.

"Haha, I couldn't tell you, hun." The fox tailed woman told him, the gash her arm throbbing more from her laughter as she followed in her friend's steed towards the grand house. She teetered a bit, causing Elrond to take notice of her injury and he signaled to one of his elvish guards, who quickly climbed down from his horse and offered his arm to her.

"Oh, wow, how polite." Toony commented as she hesitantly accepted it as she knew that she probably wouldn't make it all the way up the stairs as she was. And as the elf began to escort her to the magnificent house, she sent one last look over her shoulder at the company. "But anyway, even though I can't speak a lick of French, I _can_ tell that y'all gone and messed up. Big time."

"You just might want to consider giving her a little space for a bit."

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**Woo-hoo! One last chapter to post before I put this back on hiatus.**

**_~French Translations~_**

**_Merci beaucoup vous hobbit intelligent peu!=_Thank you so much you clever little hobbit!**

**_Oui=_Yes**

**_J'ai encore si peur= _I'm still so scared**

**_À terre!=_Get down!**

**_Tout de suite!=_Right now!**

**_très rapidement!=_Very quickly**

**_Inouï=_Incredible**

**_Dépêcher!=_Hurry**

**_Salaud!=_B*****d**

**_C'est assez!=_That's enough!**

**_tu as fait de ton mieux=_You did you're best**

**_Hein?=_Huh?**

**_Rapidement!=_Quickly!**

**_Qu'est-ce que la baise est mal avec vous?!= _What is f*****g wrong with you?! **

**_Je ne peux pas le croire! Après qu'ils nous sauvent, offrir de nous donner un abri et de la nourriture, vous continuez à agir comme si elles vont juste nous tuer dans notre sommeil?!= _I can't believe it! After they save us, offer to give us shelter and food, you continue to act as if they are just going to kill us in our sleep?!**

**_Ces braves gens sont nos amis! Et elfes ou non, ils ont sauvé nos vies! Donc, au moins faire semblant d'être un peu reconnaissants!"= _These good people are our friends! And elves or not, they saved our lives! So at least pretend to be a little grateful!**

**_Saint putain de merde! Ces hommes!= _Holy f*****g shit! These men!**

**_Enfants avec des haches, des épées et des poils du visage! C'est ce qu'ils sont!= _Children with axes, swords and facial hair! That's what they are!**

**_Merci pour tout, Seigneur Elrond=_Thank you for everything, lord Elrond**

**It's a bit of a gamble with google translate when I try to use sentences rather than two to three words at a time, so I still don't know how accurate this is. Ali, I am so sorry if I made a big mess of it ;_;**


	11. A Spark

**Alrighty guys, this is the last chapter that I have for this story, and as much as I've enjoyed revisiting, I unfortunately have to put this back on hiatus for the time being. At least until I'm all caught up with more of my other stories.**

**Now, I'd like to thank everyone who has favorited/followed/read this story, and I'd also like to give a special thank you to Steelcode for all of your sweet reviews! X3 X3 X3(Now that I've gotten caught up, I'm gonna go back to posting more 'Courage Within' chapter :)**

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

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_Chapter 11: A Spark_

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"How stupid can they be?!" Ali growled to herself. "_Ces crétins!_"

Ali had separated herself from the others once they were safe within the walls of Rivendell and she was escorted to a room that she would share with Toony, still so steamed after everything that happened that it was hard for her to keep fire from igniting all over her as she paced along the floor of the bedroom.

She was mad...mad at the orcs for attacking their company, mad at the dwarves for treating Elrond and his elves like enemies and she was _especially _made at Thorïn for what he said to Toony!

The young woman finally forced herself to stop, taking in a deep calming breath as she ran her fingers through her short, dark hair. It wouldn't do her any good to be so angry like this, they were all alive and that was what mattered...but still.

"Lady Ali, If I may..." came Lindirs' voice as she turned to see him with a rather flustered expression on his fair face. "I apologize to intrude like this, but I must inform you that your presence is needed in our medical ward. Urgently."

Thinking the worst had happened to Toony, Ali immediately flew past him through the door while he struggled at first to keep up as he needed to lead her through the halls to where they had her friend. He kept saying something, but Ali wasn't paying any attention as her thoughts were on her friend.

Was she alright? Did she loose to much blood? Were they unable to save her?

When they finally arrived to the room, the young woman wasted no time shoving the doors open and taking three full strides inside...but to her surprise, she didn't see Toony anywhere, just three elves standing around in the middle of the room and staring upward.

"My lady, please, we _must_ close your wound." A beautiful lady elf healer tried to explain gently as she continued to look at the ceiling. "It is much too large to simply wrap in bandages."

Following her gaze, Ali notices something small moving around in the large chandelier that was there, and squinting past the fire of the candles, she finally saw that it was big red squirrel with gray-green eyes and a long, bushy tail.

Yep, that had to be Toony.

But as to how she got up there, Ali had no idea until she suddenly caught sight of the male elf healer, who had a strands of his once perfectly tied back hair pulled loose along with a couple sets of thin scratches on his forehead...did she really just use the face of an elf to launch herself up there?

"It's not _that_ big!" Toony insisted stubbornly, her tail thrashing up and down in agitation. "And I'm not coming down until that needle is gone!"

Upon hearing her now high-pitched voice, Ali finally could no longer contain a howl of laughter. She didn't mean too, considering that they had been through and she was still pretty mad at a certain dwarf lord and his men, but on top of the image of her sister using the head of an elf to jump up to the chandelier and the chipmunk voice she now had in this squirrel form was just too much.

"Oh, I'm _so_ glad you find this funny!" Toony said sarcastically, her voice making Ali double over once again in laughter. "I'm still not coming down!"

Ali wiped at the mistiness in her eyes, making herself settle down as she walked further into the room until she nearly stood under the chandelier. She knew that Toony was being rather serious about this, so she would have to save the laughs for after her friend was all patched up.

"Toony, _vous devez_, what if it gets infected? What if you bleed completely out?" Ali told her in a calmer, motherly tone of voice. "It'll be easier on you if you just come down and get it over with."

"No! I _hate_ needles!" Toony snapped, crossing her arms defiantly before she turned and face away from everyone on the ground.

"Please, sis?" Ali began, trying a different approach and giving her a pleading gaze. "Do it for me?"

Toony looked down at Ali over her shoulder then looked away, trying her best to ignore those sweet, puppy like eyes...but eventually, her shoulders sagged and she let out a frustrated sigh.

"_Fine._" Toony finally relented. "But just so you know, that was a cheap!"

"I can live with that." Ali said as she extended her arm out and let Toony leap down from the chandelier onto it before she hopped down to the floor and change back to her own form. Glaring miserably at the floor while a lady elf guided her back to the table and had her sit down.

Ali gave a light snort as her sister, who she knew happened to be a bit older, was acting like this before she walked over and sat down next to her and offered her hand out.

"Want to hold my-" But she didn't get to finish her sentence when Toony tightly wrapped her fingers around her own and plopped her head on Ali's shoulder as though she were a child clinging to her mother at the doctor's office.

But before the healers could resume their work, they paused and turned around when a new figure almost seemed to glide into the room. It turned out to be none other than Elrond himself, out of his armor and dressed in his flowing robes.

"Perhaps it would be better if I offered my assistance." the lord of Rivendell stated.

His healers said nothing in protest while they simply stood at attention, gave respectful bows of their heads and filed out of the room on their light feet without making so much as the slightest bit of sound.

Once the doors were closed behind them, Elrond came forward and took hold of the threaded needle. But when he placed his hand on the shoulder of Toony's inflicted arm, he paused when he felt her tense and looked down at her rather terrified expression.

"I have done a great number of healings, my lady." Elrond told her with a kind smile. "I assure you that I will make this as painless as possible."

Toony didn't say anything as she still really, really,_ really_ didn't want stitches, but she still made herself relax and didn't make any other protest as he started to work. It did hurt, but only a little, so she just bared with it and hoped he would be finished soon.

"This is quite a wound you've sustained." the lord of Rivendale commented, attempting to distract from the pain with conversation. "Would you tell me what happened?"

"An orc hit her with an axe." Ali answered, a glare appearing on her face as she remembered the events of the fight. "Even after she showed him mercy at first, _le bâtard!_"

"An axe? I have witnessed many warriors in my life loose arms, even legs under the blades of orcs. You are very fortunate that you still have an arm to mend." Elrond commented, an expression of surprise on his face. "But I must say, it is surprising that anyone would try to show mercy to an orc. Weren't you afraid for your life?"

"I guess...I was more afraid of killing." Toony answered solemnly. "I kept thinking that if I did take his life, then what if it changed me into something else? Something I'm not strong enough live with?"

"I guess that means I'm just a coward..."

Elrond said nothing as he glanced over her ashamed, down cast. He could tell that she must have regretted her actions as it could have cost her much.

"To refrain from killing an enemy, I do not see that as cowardice, it simply means that you have a gentle heart. Even to those whom may be far less deserving of it." Elrond told her, pausing a moment as Toony flinched a little under the needle before he continued. "But I regret to say that in cases such as this, there is only one thing you must keep in mind."

"What's that?" Toony asked.

"In times of battle, you may have only two choices." Came Gandalf's voice as they looked over to see him enter the room. "You can spare a foe, and in turn, protect yourself from the unknown...or lose a friend and spend the rest of your days with the guilt of knowing you could have prevented their fate."

"Which of those choices do you believe you _would_ be able to live with?"

Toony gave a little wince at the slight pinch she felt as Elrond fastened her stitching and snapped off the extra twine. Giving her an apologetic nod for the discomfort as she looked down at the impressive stitch work, gingerly grasping her arm right below the wound.

"Thank you." She said quietly as she let Gandalf's words slowly sink in.

"My lord." a soft voice spoke up, making them look over to see a beautiful elven woman standing at the doors. "We have a fresh bath drawn for the ladies, if it would please them to clean up and dress before dinner."

At the very word 'bath' Toony and Ali both looked at each other with wide eyes and excited smiles. Then, the two of them flew off the table and crossed the room as they patiently, but eagerly had the elf maid lead them out into the hall.

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_At Dinner..._

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The girls were running a bit late for dinner, but it was fine as they could join them at any time while the dwarfs, on the other hand, would have made an bigger ruckus if they had to wait any longer for a bite of food.

During the time, Gandalf and Thorïn presented their swords to Elrond to see what he could make of them. learning that they were made by the high elves of west. After which, it wasn't hard to tell that he was surprised to see famous weapons made by his kin to be in the hands for Thorïn and Gandalf, even more upon hearing where they had found them.

"...And what were you doing on the great east road?" Elrond asked after they had showed him the elven weapons they retrieved from the troll horde.

Thorïn sent a seething gaze in Gandalf's direction upon Elrond's inquiry, but as remembered what the wizard had told him before their arrival, he bit back what he truly wanted to say to the elf lord...

"Excuse me..." Thorïn stated in a rather cold tone as he pushed himself from the table, but before he could storm off to stand next to the tables of his kin, he had to a sudden halt as he almost collided into the body of none other than Ali.

Her pale skin washed clean of sweat and grim so that it seemed to gleam radiantly in the evening sun, her short hair brushed over to one side and slightly curled as a blue choker ribbon was fastened about her neck while garbed in a fine blue dress which made the color of her amber eyes and ruby ring pop as it hugged her figure and flowed gracefully with even the slightest movement she would make.

Thorïn didn't even realize that he had been staring, that is, until Toony suddenly peeked over her shoulder from behind and came to stand beside her.

Her arm was cleaned and wrapped in a fresh bandaged, but it didn't distract from beautiful lavender dress she wore with longs sleeves that touched along the floor and a V-neck collar that showed off her necklace. Part of her long red hair braided in a halo atop her head and adorned with a flower that had pale pink petals.

"Ali, what's up?" Toony asked before she noticed that it had become pretty quiet, save for the music, and she looked over at the two tables that held Bilbo and their other dwarven friends and found that every eye was on the two of them.

"...what?" the red head finally asked. "You've never seen girls in dresses before?"

That was when Thorïn finally moved his gaze back to the ground, clutching Orcrist in his hand and moving away. Clearing his throat almost warningly which sent everyone else back to their meals and grumbling over there not being any meat or about the elves taste in music.

Ali was a bit disappointed that Thorïn didn't say anything about her outfit at first, she really thought that the elf maids did an amazing job picking out something that looked really nice on her, even if it wasn't red or black which where her favorite colors. But eventually, she just gave a heated sigh and refused to even look back at him as she held her head high while walking over to the table and sat in an empty chair besides Gandalf while Toony took Thorïn's vacant seat and waited as an elf cleared it and gave them plates of greens, fruits and bread.

"Two women, thirteen dwarfs and a halfling...strange traveling companions, Gandalf." Elrond commented.

"These are descendants of the house of Durin." the wizard told him. "They're noble, decent folk and surprisingly cultured. They've got a deep love of the arts."

Of course, every good thing he said about them was instantly proven wrong in some way by most of the dwarfs.

"And the two human maids in your company?" the elven lord asked.

"They happened upon our company while on a journey back to their homeland." Gandalf answered. "Since we seem to be heading in the same direction, we thought it might be safer if they joined our company for the time being."

It truly was amazing how well Gandalf was able to bend the truth and make it believable. But as Ali and Toony looked at Elrond, they noticed that he had a rather annoyed expression on his face, like he already knew something and was irritated that Gandalf would look him in the eye and still try to cover it up.

"A vortex of fire falling from the sky...an unknown beast fighting wargs and orcs, two strange women that are clearly not of our middle earth..." Elrond listed quietly before he reached over and lifted Toony's emerald pendant up with his fingers before he fixed the wizard with a rather steely look. "Did you think I would not notice the jewels they wear, Gandalf?"

Toony shared a worried look with Ali as she moved her hand that wore the ring under the table. while she knew it was pointless as they had already been found out. But if Gandalf was going to say anything about it, he never really got the chance as a much needed distraction came to play.

"Alright lads, there's only one thing for it." Boufur loudly announced, catching everyone's attention as he got up from his seat and stepped out onto the column in the middle of the dining room before he gestured over to the table where Ali and Toony sat with Elrond and Gandalf before he started to sing.

_'Theeere's aaan inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn beneath an old gray hill_

_And there they brew a beer so brown_

_The Man in the Moon himself came down one night to drink his fill'_

His kinsmen, all delighted to hear this new song compared to the harps and flutes of the elves, started clapping their hands and stomping their boots on the floor. Even Thorïn got into it a little as they sang along with Bofur as well.

_'Oh the ostler has a tipsy cat that played a five stringed fiddle_

_and up and down he saws his bow now squeaking hiiigh, _

_now purring looow_

_Now sawing in the middle!'_

At this time, Ali and Toony had forgotten about Elrond finding them out as they focused more on the song, grinning ear to ear in delight as they clapped and laughed along with the others while making sure to avoid getting hit by any flying elven food.

_'Sooo, the cat on the fiddle played haydiddlediddle, a drink that'll wake the dead_

_he squeaked and sawed and he quickened the tune _

_and the landlord shook the Man in the Moon "it's after three" he said'_

The whole room erupted with the laughter of the dwarven men, but just as they began to settle down, that was when Bofur suddenly made eye contact with Ali and Toony, pointing at them as he climbed down from the column.

"Come now my ladies, why don't you sing us something from your homeland?" he asked them. "A dance too! I'd wager you both must be considered fine dancers where you're from."

Toony gave a snort at his statement while Ali's cheeks grew red.

"Right, I like to sing, but I have about as much grace as a spastic chicken." the fox eared woman told him.

"I...I like to sing too, and I do know how to dance a little, but..." Ali began softly before she quickly shook her head and hide her face behind her hands. "_Oh non_, I just can't, it's too embarrassing!"

A wave of protest from the dwarfs met their ears.

"Oh please, lady Ali, just one song?" Ori asked. "The first one you sang on our way to pick up Bilbo was lovely!"

"And me and Fíli didn't even get to hear that one!" Kíli stated. "We want to listen to a song from your land!"

"Please excuse us for just one second," Toony said as she pushed back her chair and took Ali by the arm. "We'll be right back with a song that'll knock your socks off!"

"_Quoi?!_" Ali cried, but she wasn't able to say anything more as Toony dragged her out of the room and down the hall that lead to their bedroom where Toony began rummaging through her bag upon entering.

"Toony! Why did you-I can't sing and dance in front of all those people, in front of Thorin!" Ali told her, just about ready to die from embarrassment at even the thought of it. "What were _you thinking?!_"

"I was thinking, maybe this is a good chance for us to just to have some fun before we can't." Toony said before she finally gave a victorious _'ah-ha!'_ and pulled out her phone. "Look Ali, I'm just as shy about singing in front of people…but we could have _died_ today. Heck, I _would_ be dead if you hadn't saved me."

"Well, yes…but I don't see what singing and dancing have to do with that!" Ali grumbled.

"Like I said before, sis, let's have fun." Toony explained as she began looking through her play list for her music. "Let's sing, let's dance, let's do whatever while we can before it's too late to do it. You know what happens after we leave Rivendell, so maybe we shouldn't let silly stuff like stage fright stop us from having a good time with our friends."

At that, Ali really couldn't say anything against it. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with this, but Toony did have a point. As soon as they walk out of Rivendale, they would be out there in a world that was fraught with all kinds of dangers.

"What do you think about this one?" The red head asked, finally finding what she was looking for as Ali looked down at the screen.

"Chandelier by Sia?" Ali asked.

"We can have music playing, and if it'll help, just look at me the whole time." Toony said with an encouraging smile. "And I'll be singing with you the whole time, too."

"You promise?" Ali asked.

"Every word." Toony assured, making an X over her heart. "Cross my heart and hope to cry."

Thinking about it a little more, Ali finally gave a relenting nod, and the two of them left their room and hurried back to the dining area where everyone was waiting. Ali hung back a bit to prepare herself, but Toony sat right back down in her seat and placed her phone on the surface of the table.

"What is that you have, my lady?" Elrond asked curiously.

"Just a little something from our homeland, lord Elrond." Toony answered before she hit the 'play' button on the screen.

Silence at first, but at the first notes of the song coming from the speaker of her phone, which greatly surprised everyone in the room besides Toony and Ali, and the two young women soon began to sing together.

_'Party girls don't get hurt_

_Can't feel anything, when will I learn_

_I push it down, push it down'_

And as Toony continued singing, Ali suddenly moved forward into the room and began to twirl dance very much like the little girl from the music video as she began to sing along with Toony some more.

_'I'm the one "for a good time call"_

_Phone's blowin' up, ringin' my doorbell_

_I feel the love, feel the love'_

With her airy dress elegantly billowing around her as she gave one more twirl before sat down upon the column between the dwarf's tables, she gave a smile, feeling much more confidante in herself.

_'1 2 3, 1 2 3, drink_

_1 2 3, 1 2 3, drink_

_1 2 3, 1 2 3, drink_

_Throw 'em back till I lose count'_

It was obvious that the dwarf's hadn't heard a song or seen a dance quite like this before, but they were nonetheless entranced by it as they clapped and whopped, urging the two women to continue.

_'I'm gonna swing from the chandelier_

_From the chandelier_

_I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist_

_Like it doesn't exist'_

Ali wasn't able to follow the majority of the dance steps from what she remembered in the video, as there wasn't that much space to really work with in here. But she felt she was doing an excellent job incorporating the high kicks, ballerina twirls and jumps.

She couldn't believe how free she felt, so light on her feet...and singing this song with Toony, oh it was so very fun!

_'I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night_

_Feel my tears as they dry_

_I'm gonna swing from the chandelier_

_From the chandelier'_

The elves seemed to be just as enchanted and entertained by the whole thing as well, though they did a better job of masking it under those more stoic elven expressions than the dwarfs did. Even Gandalf gave a bit of a grin at seeing the two women opening up like this as he sat back and enjoyed the song as well.

_'But I'm holding on for dear life_

_Won't look down, won't open my eyes_

_Keep my glass full until morning light_

_'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight'_

Ali locked eyes with Thorïn for just a second before she began to dance over to him, making the dwarf lord watch her every move as though he were under a magical spell, mesmerized at her graceful movement and she spun and circled close around him, yet never fully touching him as she only left ghost like breezes gliding over his hair and cloths until she finally moved away.

_'Help me, I'm holding on for dear life_

_Won't look down, won't open my eyes_

_Keep my glass full until morning light_

_'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight_

_On for tonight'_

Toony couldn't have been prouder of Ali, her heart swelling at how happy and comfortable she seemed right at this very moment, so much like an angel. And that look that Thorïn was giving her too, how his eyes never even seemed to blink as he watched Ali dance as though she didn't have a single care in the world.

She knew that the two of them had butt heads with each other on more than occasion since they joined his company, but she was sure that there was something there...like a spark igniting.

_'On for tonight_

_Yeah I'm just holding on for tonight_

_Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight_

_On for tonight, on for tonight'_

Ali was breathing hard now, even if she wasn't doing all of the steps, especially the more erratic ones, it was still just a physically demanding. but they were almost done, and it was time for her to start slowing it down too. She could finish this!

And she hoped Thorïn would still be watching.

_'Yeah I'm just holding on for tonight_

_I'm just holding on for tonight_

_Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight_

_On for tonight, on for tonight'_

Once the music finally stopped and Ali finished her dance, everything was quiet...until both Ali and Toony were nearly blown back by the sheer volume of the applause they had received by the dwarfs. Whistles, hoots, and they even heard demands for them to do it again.

They couldn't help but smile, delighted that they enjoyed the song, but they politely declined as they still had a dinner to get back to before it was time to whine down for the night. Toony spoke with Elrond as he praised them on a what a wonderful job they did before asking more about the strange object that played such different music.

Though Ali only half listened to whatever story Toony could come up with as she stole a glance back to Thorïn and blushed when he raised his goblet of wine to her, giving her a silent nod of approval before taking a drink. Ali managed to return it with a nod of her own and looked back down at her food with a smile before she started to dig into her plate.

She no longer felt angry, in fact, she was pretty sure that this had to be the best day of her life and she hoped that they would have many more days like this to come.

* * *

**_…_**

**_…_**

**_…_**

* * *

**And there we go, now this story is gonna be going on hiatus for a while. I'm not sure when I'll be picking it back up, so to anyone who like the story be sure to follow it so you'll be notified of new chapters when I pick it back up :D:D:D**

**_~French Translations~_**

**_Ces crétins!=_Those morons!**

**_vous devez=_you have to**

**_le bâtard=_the b********

**_Oh non=_Oh no **

**_Quoi?!=_What?!**

**Thank you so much again for reading guys! Until next time! ;)**


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